


oh, little prince,

by sxster_snapped



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Hybrids, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Third Person, POV Third Person Limited, Past Character Death, Platonic Relationships, Slow To Update, Tags Contain Spoilers, Tags May Change, Work In Progress, nothing too graphic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:07:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28110636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sxster_snapped/pseuds/sxster_snapped
Summary: Hybrids are despised by most citizens of Ëndërr. They are thrown to the streets as soon as they start presenting their traits, usually around the age of 7. Most will die before their tenth birthday, but many will be taken by scientists to be experimented on or by traffickers to be bought like pets by the rich and powerful. There are only a few safe villages for hybrids, and even there they take care to hide their traits. The birth of the Crown Prince was a cause of celebration for everyone, but the hybrids found themselves growing nervous as the years passed and the prince started to show the same hatred towards them as his father.(A DreamSMP hybrid!AU with Prince George as the main POV)This is a work of fiction based on the characters Dream, GeorgeNotFound, Sapnap, and others mentioned in the story. If any creator was to say they were uncomfortable with works like this, I would remove it immediately and apologize. Please do not send this to the creators mentioned in this story.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Darryl Noveschosch, Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Darryl Noveschosch & Sapnap, GeorgeNotFound & Darryl Noveschosch, GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Zak Ahmed & Clay | Dream, Zak Ahmed & Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Darryl Noveschosch & Sapnap, Zak Ahmed & Darryl Noveschosch, Zak Ahmed & GeorgeNotFound, Zak Ahmed & Sapnap
Comments: 69
Kudos: 146





	1. enjoy the freedom of your youth {Prologue}

**Author's Note:**

  * For [beyondthesins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beyondthesins/gifts).



Laughter echoed through the forest clearing as five young boys chased each other and enjoyed the break from the spring rain. Sapnap leapt in front of George, protecting him from Dream as Dream lunged to tag the young crown prince. Bad and Skeppy had climbed up a tree, knowing the boy who was ‘it’ had a fear of heights and wouldn’t climb after them. He was tall enough even at the age of 8 that he could easily have tagged Bad’s ankle where it dangled from the branch, but he was focused on getting the prince who had been teasing him earlier.

George shrieked as Sapnap immediately turned and tagged him after protecting him from Dream. The other two laughed and took off, sprinting across the clearing. George ran after them, their laughter slowing them down as they tried to catch their breath. He tackled the tallest to the ground, Dream’s hand catching Sapnap and dragging him down with the other two. The three of them lay on the ground in a tangled pile of limbs, giggling quietly. Bad’s startled shout and the sound of someone hitting the ground made them all sit up, giggle’s stopping.

“‘Geppy!” Bad jumped from the tree after the other boy, who was groaning where he hit the ground. “Guys, get over here!”

Sapnap was the first to stand, offering a hand to George as Dream pushed himself up. Skeppy sat up with Bad’s help, clutching his head, “Sorry, sorry. I guess I blacked out.”

“What happened?”

“I blacked out, I should probably stop skipping breakfast,” Skeppy laughed, playing it off as a joke as he shoved Bad away playfully. Bad gasped and started talking about how important breakfast was, insisting that he was going to start bringing him banana muffins that his mom made as the baker of the village. The five boys sat down, energy damped by Skeppy’s fall. They spoke for a few hours, but as the sun started to set the duo who lived in the palace started running to the palace, terrified of getting in trouble for being out past dark. Bad offered to let Dream stay the night in his house like he always did, but the taller boy shrugged off the offer with a grin, claiming his parents would be worried. Skeppy took the offer with no hesitation, head still hurting from when he blacked out earlier.

The two headed off towards the village, Dream waiting until they were out of sight to turn the other way and walk further into the forest. He climbed down the slight cliff and scrambled into the cave hidden behind a waterfall. A campfire was reduced to a few smoldering embers in the corner next to a bedroll stolen from a camping villager years ago. He checked the old chest, frowning when he realized he forgot to go hunting. Green eyes flickered to the entrance of the cave, the frown deepening at the darkness of the sky. Dream knew he could see better in the dark than most people, but his stone axe had broken and he hadn’t had time to make a new one before meeting up with his friends. He sat down on the bedroll, sighing as he tossed his last apple between his hands. His thoughts travelled to Sapnap and George in the palace and Bad and Skeppy in the warm bakery.

Sapnap and George were scolded harshly by their caregivers, shifting their weight uncomfortably as they were berated for going to the forest with no protection and for hanging out with villagers who could’ve hurt them. George was sent to his father’s study, being told to hurry so he wouldn’t be angrier. Sapnap was sent to the stable to help the stableboys finish cleaning before going to bed. The boys shared a glance filled with annoyance as they went their separate ways.

“George. You are the crown prince, you need to start acting like it. What would your mother think of you playing with villagers?” King Daniel scolded, pacing behind his desk. George sat with his hands in his lap, eyes focused on his fingers and determinedly not making eye contact. His father sighed at the silence, placing a gentle hand on George’s shoulder. “Son, I don’t want to lose you. Promise me that you won’t leave the palace walls without protection?”

“Sapnap is my protection. He’s going to be a knight someday,” George said, meeting his father’s eyes for the first time. “Bad and Skeppy and Dream would never hurt me. They don’t care that I’m some stupid prince.”

His father sighed again, leaning against his desk. George lowered his gaze to his hands again, fidgeting with the hem of his tunic. A few moments of silence passed between the two before George looked up again. Worry filled his father’s eyes, and the knowledge that it was his fault made him feel awful.

“Father, I won’t go out again without a knight. I’m sorry, I just wanted to play with people who don’t treat me like a prince,” George said softly, shoulders slumping.

Sapnap groaned as he collapsed into his bed, shoulder sore from helping carry saddles for thirty minutes. A quiet knock at the servant entrance made him sit up. He shuffled over and opened it, leaning heavily against it as his eyes adjusted to the bright light of a hand-held lantern. George grinned sheepishly, “I couldn’t sleep.”

Sapnap stepped out of the way, letting the crown prince step into his small room. The prince sat on the bed, staring out the window as his friend changed quickly. Sapnap pulled on a soft pair of cotton pants and a sleep tunic before sitting down next to the prince. He followed the worried gaze in the direction of the forest they had been in earlier, “You’re thinking about Dream again.”

“How can I not? He’s never mentioned a home, or parents, and he keeps getting thinner every time we meet up,” the prince flopped backwards on the bed, throwing an arm across his face. Sapnap stared out the window for a few more seconds before shrugging and dropping his weight across George. George groaned and shoved his friend until they were lying side by side. Sapnap rested his head on his arm and grinned at his friend, barely visible in the darkness. “I’m too tired to deal with you, can we go to sleep now?”

Skeppy and Bad were curled up in a similar way. Skeppy’s head against Bad’s chest, and his face screwed up in pain. Bad’s hands were smoothing through the other boy’s hair, worry coursing through his veins as his friend’s pain got worse and his skin grew colder. A faint blue tinge started to take over his fingers, and Bad felt his heart clench in terror at the fear of what was happening to Skeppy. He called out for his mom, but the cold expression on her normally loving face when she saw Skeppy made him lean back, clutching Skeppy tighter to his chest, “Mama, you can’t tell anyone. They’ll kill him, they’ll hurt him. He’s my friend, you have to help him.”

His mother’s eyes flickered in between the two boys, one in intense physical pain and the other’s heart breaking. She let out a deep sigh and sat down on the edge of the bed, holding out her hand for Skeppy’s wrist. Bad let her take it, eyes watching her filled with fear. Her eyes went to the clock as she counted the seconds between the pulses. Bad suddenly let out a fearful cry, Skeppy’s chest stopping it’s pained movement, as the pulse under her fingers stopped. Bad let out a few quiet sobs, refusing to let go of his friend. Skeppy suddenly lunged upwards, sucking in a huge gasp of air as he pulled out of his friend’s arm. His previously dark brown eyes were icy blue, almost white, and filled with terror as he stared at the two sitting on the bed. Bad reached forward, Skeppy allowing him to gently hold his arm and pull him into a hug. The shorter boy winced at how cold his skin was and at the lack of a heartbeat under the ear resting on his chest.

“Bad, Bad did I die? What’s happening to me? Why does it hurt so much?” Skeppy whimpered, sounding every bit like the terrified eight year old he was. 

Bad’s mother shook her head gently, offering an awkward smile, “Darling, you’re going to be staying with us for a while, okay? I’ll be telling your parents, so don’t you worry about them. Now, how about some nice chamomile tea with licorice root and honey, just like you like?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! I hope you liked this preview of my FIRST multi-chapter fic!! I'm very excited to be working on this, and I hope you all enjoy it :D  
> I have a few chapters already written so hopefully I'll be able to update once a week (I don't have a set day, but most likely Wednesdays or Thursdays).  
> Once again thank you all for reading, comments and kudos are appreciated but not expected, but they're free and you can always change your mind later ;P  
> <3 MF
> 
> Buy me a coffee?  
> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=48986694


	2. do not forget your father's will (chapter 1)

_ Ten years later. . . _

“Sapnap, you idiot! We’re going to be late!” George screamed, spurring his horse to gallop towards the castle. The knight-in-training laughed from his horse behind the prince, causing his annoyance to grow. “If you would’ve just ignored that stupid taunt-”

“If I had ignored that man, then that poor kid would’ve been kidnapped and sold to who knows what kind of creep,” Sapnap spat, laughter vanishing immediately and a serious tone taking over his voice.

“He was a hybrid, don’t you know how dangerous they are? Our scientists almost have a cure, but the attacks on research centers are getting worse, more frequent. We need to stop them at the source,” George said shortly. His hand rubbed his left forearm instinctively where an old scar reminded him constantly of the dangers of hybrids.

Sapnap refused to look at his friend as he pulled his horse up next to him. He kept his eyes forward, jaw clenched as he spoke again, “He reminded me of Skeppy and Dream. The last time we saw either of them, they were that kid’s age. He even had green eyes like Dream.”

George flinched at the reminder of the two boys he had tried desperately to forget. The walls of the castle stopped Sapnap from saying anything else on the subject. He grabbed his helmet where it was strapped to his saddle and pulled it on, straightening his back and falling easily into his role as George’s personal guard. His shield was strapped to his arm, axe slung across his back and sword in its sheath. George slowed his horse down and straightened out his tunic, brushing a hand through his hair to try and tame it before putting his crown back on. His horse tossed its head as he made it fall behind Sapnap’s, not used to not being the lead horse.

The gate was open, and the guards immediately stood at attention as the crown prince went past. Sapnap smoothly dismounted his horse, handing the reins to a stableboy as he grabbed the bags full of random things from their short trip. George waved to the speechless stableboy that grabbed his horse’s reins, his wide eyes blinking after the crown prince. A servant was already waiting near the stable exit with George’s cape. He paused to let her wrap it around his shoulder, fastening the silver clasp and smoothing out the dark blue material as it fell loosely to flutter around his ankles.

Sapnap remained at his right and slightly behind him as George continued walking, heading to the room where the lords gathered for their meetings. A quick glance at the sun made his pace pick up slightly, not wanting to be late and delay everything. His father was waiting outside the room, the frown set on his face smoothing with relief when he saw George and Sapnap.

“The guard must wait outside of the room, we are covering sensitive topics today,” King Daniel said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Sapnap’s back straightened even more. He reached up and removed his helmet, bowing to the king before speaking, “All due respect, my liege, but I cannot protect the prince without having the knowledge of what I need to protect him from.”

The king met the knight’s stubborn gaze for a brief second before turning back to his son, “Your guard seems to forget his place, but if he must he may join.”

George met Sapnap’s gaze and rolled his eyes at the pleased smirk on the guard’s face. He took his place at his father’s left, straightening up and turning his focus to the door that a servant was opening. The quiet chatter of the lord’s silenced as they all stood for the king and crown prince’s entrance. King Daniel sat in his chair, George sitting directly to his left, and the lords followed their examples. 

“Lord Eret, you have information about the hybrid forces?” King Daniel spoke, starting the meeting with no hesitation after everyone, excluding Sapnap, was sitting.

“Yes, your highness. They are growing stronger with every passing day, last my spy reported they were at least double my numbers,” Lord Eret said, strangely calm for a man whose land and people were at risk. “Sir Wilbur says he will try to convince Lord Philza to send aid and reinforcements.”

King Daniel hummed, grabbing the papers handed to him by the lord on his right. He flipped through a few pages before his eyes narrowed and focused on one of the lords, “Lord Barkley, what is the status of your prisoner? This is the third meeting your paper has it listed, but still nothing.”

“Your highness, I apologize for the delay. There were. . .unforeseen difficulties transporting the prisoner. If it is all right by you, I have my guards holding the prisoner in the side room, they can bring it in now,” Lord Barkley stood, gesturing to the small door that led to a private meeting room. All the eyes in the room went to it before going to the king to see his response. He had a neutral expression, but his eyes gleamed with curiosity. A wave of the hand to Lord Barkley was all the lord needed to knock twice and have his guards open the door.

The silence in the room was thick, tension running through everyone present. Sapnap had his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Three guards stepped into the room, two holding chains, the one in the lead holding onto a rough length of rope. They pulled harshly, and the person at the end of the three leads stumbled forwards, collapsing to their knees. A hood was over their head, but there was the faint glimpse of purple enchantment on a metal collar.

“Lord Barkley, remove the hood so we can see this,” King Daniel glanced back down at the papers, “traitor to the crown.”

Lord Barkley nodded to the guard holding the rope, and he cruelly ripped the brown hood off the prisoner’s head. Black eyes blinked widely, pain from the sudden light causing the young girl’s face to contort in pain. She glanced around, trying to recognize anyone. The lord’s nearest to her realized what she was the fastest, and they all stood up and scrambled away from her.

“You brought a hybrid to the palace? Explain. And make it quick, I have half a mind to take you off this court and send you into exile,” King Daniel spat out, standing and stepping away from the hybrid girl.

Her eyes snapped to the king and she snarled, “I have nothing against you, King. I was peaceful, living a quiet life, and this lord of yours decided to provoke me.”

Lord Barkley smacked the girl, leaving a bright handprint on her face. Her face remained downcast to the side it was jerked to when his hand connected. He offered an apologetic smile to the king, “She has quite the mouth on her, but rest assured my enchantments are too strong for her to put any force behind it. That collar blocks any disgusting powers she has from her hybrid side, but she’s nothing. She’s a mere wither skeleton hybrid, and I have heard rumors that Sir Wilbur knows the location of a wither hybrid.”

All eyes turned to the quiet knight, who was one of the few to remain seated. His eyes glanced around, focusing on George for a split second, unreadable emotion in them. A moment of silence passed before he seemed to realize the court was waiting for him to speak, “Ah, yes, my lord. My lord Philza has heard rumors of a wither hybrid near our land, but we have yet to narrow down the exact location, my lords and your highness.”

George glanced at his father, who had sat back down and was thinking deeply. He felt Sapnap’s gaze on the back of his head and took a quiet breath, “Father, lords of the court, it is nearing the time when I will need to complete a coming of age mission, and for my guard to complete his training for knighthood. We will accompany Sir Wilbur to Lord Philza’s land, and we will find this wither hybrid. Lord Barkley, one of your enchanted colors would be greatly appreciated.”

“Of course, my prince. It would be my pleasure to assist you on your journey,” Lord Barkley bowed deeply at the hip. “At your word, my king, I will have my enchanter create as many collars and cuffs as you need to deal with the hybrids.”

The girl started to struggle against the guards’ harsh grip. She snarled when they pulled her back harshly, “You can’t go after a wither hybrid. You’ll die, my prince! Die if you want, lords and king, but the prince cannot die.”

George met her eyes for the first time, the solid black inkinesss unnerving him. He couldn’t read her expression, but she seemed earnest enough in her words. The hybrid stared right back at the prince, unwavering in her gaze. His eyes flickered to her fingers, which were solid black at the tips. A faint gradient of the blackness trailed up her arms to where they were covered by her sleeves. With a start, he realized her fingers were just bones, no flesh covering the black bones.

“You, hybrid, have no right to speak to the royal family of Ëndërr like that,” Sapnap snarled, pulling his sword out and resting it against her throat. She stared up the guard without any trace of fear in her expression.

“Guard! Back down. It cannot follow through on any threats that it so foolishly makes,” King Daniel said. He turned his gaze to his son, who was watching him with anxiousness. “You have my blessing, George. When you return with the wither hybrid, you will have secured your path to the throne and your guard will be knighted.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading and supporting!! The support on the prologue has been mindblowing and it means the world to me. I will continue to try and get weekly updates out (likely on Wednesdays).  
> Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated, and they're completely free ;P  
> <3 MF
> 
> Buy me a coffee?  
> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=48986694


	3. follow the path to your future (chapter 2)

“I can’t believe your dad actually is letting his little boy go on a dangerous mission,” Sapnap said with a grin, double checking the bag he was packing before tying it tightly.

George rolled his eyes, grabbing the bag from Sapnap when he let go of the straps and setting it with the others, “It’s not like we can’t handle a hybrid. It’s just another savage terrorist.”

“I get why you hate them, but they’re still people, George. You shouldn’t call them ‘its’,” the guard stood up, stretching his back with a groan. He saw the prince’s uncomfortable expression and sighed. “Sorry, I just can’t help but feel for them sometimes. They don’t ask to be monsters.”

“But they still are,” George said quietly. His fingers danced over his left sleeve, a motion not missed by Sapnap. “We can talk more about the supposed humanity of the hybrids on the road. I’m sure Sir Wilbur would find it entertaining.”

Sapnap scoffed at the reminder of the knight they were travelling with as a knock sounded on the door. He walked to the door to answer the knock, and a startled noise tore out of his throat as he almost tackled the person in a hug. George spun around, expecting to have to fight an intruder but his eyes widened when Sapnap shouted again, “Bad! Where have you been?”

Bad laughed and shoved Sapnap off of him, stepping into the room so the door could close behind him. George rushed forward and wrapped his friend in a tight hug, which Bad returned with just as much energy. When the two pulled out of the hug, Bad grinned brightly at the other two, “I’ve been studying, you muffin head. I could never be a guard for the crown prince, but your father just accepted my application to be your advisor if you accept me.”

“Of course I accept, you idiot! We’ve missed you! I thought we might never see you again, like Skeppy and Dream,” George whispered the last bit, hugging his friend again.

“I’d never leave you muffins, you’d be dead without me.”

Sapnap grinned, glancing out the window to check the time. He grabbed three of the bags from the pile, “It’s a good thing we packed extra, you just need to grab a travel pack from the stable. It’ll have a bed roll and a few other things that your horse will carry on its saddle. You have a horse, right?”

“I have Fernando! You guys will love him, he was bred to be a war horse, but he’s too much of a sweetheart to go into battle,” Bad gushed, his hands flapping with excitement. “Skeppy-”

Bad’s face dropped, wincing at the accidental mention of the friend. George and Sapnap had a silent conversation with their eyes, George winning the argument and Sapnap stepping forward to touch Bad’s shoulder gently, “Skeppy would love Fernando. He’d be so proud of you.”

Bad looked up at Sapnap, a small smile starting on his face. He shrugged and went to grab two of the remaining bags, “He’d be proud of you two too. So would Dream, you know he always wanted to be George’s knight.”

“We should get going, I don’t want our knight friend to wait too long,” George said after a few moments of silence. “And I don’t want to have to ride too late into the night to make up for lost time.”

Sapnap nodded shortly, slinging one the bags over his shoulder and grabbing another so George would only have to carry one. Bad followed Sapnap as he led the way for the trio. They got into the stables and saw Wilbur was already there, brushing his horse’s mane gently. He looked up at the sound of the gate swinging open and closed. Bad blinked at the knight, who stared back in confusion.

“Wilbur?”

“Bad?” Wilbur spoke at the same time, a surprised laugh escaping his mouth. “I didn’t know you were the advisor I was told was joining us, I haven’t seen you in forever!”

“I thought you would be with Phil still! I didn’t know you represented him!” Bad replied, laughing too as he gave Wilbur a quick hug. He turned to Sapnap and George and gestured between himself and Wilbur, “I met Wilbur while I was studying under one of Lord Philza’s advisors! He helped me study hybrids and what they are.”

Wilbur’s smile was soft as he shrugged, “It was Bad who was brave enough to start to track the wither hybrid. I just continued his work when he left. And speaking of leaving, we should get on the trail. Philza is expecting us by lunch tomorrow.”

Bad went to grab Fernando, a strong-looking buckskin stallion. George and Sapnap prepared their horses, which had recovered from the day before. Fernando headbutted George’s palomino Andalusian, which nickered and bumped his shoulder into Fernando. Sapnap’s blood bay stallion tossed his head and snorted, unhappy with Sapnap attaching the heavy saddle bags. Wilbur’s horse was the only mare, and she obviously wasn’t a war horse. She was a gorgeous rose gray, and she seemed to be replying to Wilbur’s whispers with huffs as he tied a few bags to her saddle.

“Awww, is that Penelope? She’s gotten so big!” Bad said from his saddle, spurring Fernando to trot slowly to Penelope’s side after Wilbur mounted.

The knight gave a small smile, “She’s five now. I only ride her when I’m travelling between Phil’s land and the castle, she’s not good for war but she’s the fastest runner we have in the stables.”

Sapnap swung up onto his stallion, making George the last to get into his saddle. When he was saddled, he gestured for Wilbur to take the lead, as he was the one who traveled this route the most and was most knowledgeable of any short cuts. The steady rhythm of horse hooves was the only sound for a few hours as they rode in a quick trot, trying to make up for any lost time. Eventually, Bad grew annoyed with the silence and started chatting quietly with Sapnap about random things. George rode next to Wilbur since the path was wide enough for their horses to be next to each other and not pressed shoulder to shoulder. The two were silent, observing the forest as they went, and observing the other through the corners of their eyes when they could get away with it. The quiet conversation behind them provided a relief to the otherwise tense atmosphere.

“So, Sir Wilbur, how long have you been a knight?” George asked after about another half hour of silence between the two.

“I’m the son of a lord, I’ve been in training for knighthood since I was seven. I became a full knight when I turned 18 two years ago,” Wilbur said eyes not leaving the road. “I serve on the court for my father because my twin was better at fighting and duels while I was better at diplomacy and historical studies.”

“I knew you had brothers, but you have a twin?”

Wilbur smiled faintly, eyes flickering to George, “Yes. Not by birth, we’re both adopted. We share a birthday, so we always introduced ourselves as twins. You wouldn’t be able to tell we were the same age by looking at us when we were younger. I was a bookworm with wire frame glasses, he had a six pack and four wild boars to his name by the time we were ten.”

George laughed, shaking his head at the thought of a ten year old killing a wild boar. His smile remained, turning nostalgic as he spoke, “I never had any siblings. My mother was killed when she was pregnant by a hybrid attack when I was nine. My closest friends were Sapnap and Bad, and two others who went missing when we were young.”

“Oh? Were they hybrids?” Wilbur asked, seeming genuinely interested for the first time.

“No, there’s no way they could have been. Skeppy was chaotic, way too human to be a hybrid. And Dream was. . .well, he was Dream. He was smart, and clever, and kind, and had such detailed hopes and plans for his future. Neither of them had the animalistic, cruel, evil that hybrids have. Their families likely just moved one day and they didn’t have a chance to tell us,” George defended his lost friends with a frown. He had to admit he had his own doubts about his friends when they had first vanished at the age of 8, but his mother’s death made him certain that his friends were not like those monsters. They were kind, the hybrids were cruel creatures.

Wilbur paused, his gaze thoughtful as he watched George, trusting his horse to keep to the path, “Maybe not all hybrids are evil? I know that your mother was murdered by them, but maybe they aren’t all inherently bad?”

George froze in his saddle, eyes locked straight ahead as Wilbur’s almost traitorous words echoed through his mind. He realized that Wilbur had gone silent and was watching him cautiously, so he cleared his throat, “You could be stripped of your title for speaking like that.”

“Of course, my prince, I meant no disrespect,” Wilbur said calmly, turning his gaze back to the path and checking the position of the sun. The tense atmosphere was back, and George felt momentarily guilty for crushing the peace they had. “We should be making camp soon. There is a clearing nearby that is big enough for four tents.”

“Sapnap, Bad, you’ll be in charge of pitching the tents. Wilbur can take care of the horses, and I’ll start the fire and get food cooking,” George said, loud enough for the two behind them to hear. He waited for them to both reply with their affirmatives before he sped his horse up to a light gallop. Wilbur kept pace with him, keeping their horses even. When Wilbur slowed his horse down, George followed his lead and they all slowly walked their horses off the trail into the clearing. 

Sapnap swung off his blood bay, causing the stallion to snort lightly in annoyance as the saddle shifted. He handed the reins to Wilbur, who had dismounted Penelope with slightly more grace. George and Bad both got off their horses and tied their lead ropes to a nearby tree so Wilbur would have room to unpack and remove the saddles. Bad tossed Sapnap two of the tent rolls, setting down one of the two he was holding and going to pitch the other. George quickly gathered kindling and firewood after digging a shallow fire pit. He had a fire going easily within a few minutes, fish cooking and filling the clearing with the crackling of wood and the smell of spices. Wilbur was the first to join him after ensuring the horses had access to water. The two sat in companionable silence, the awkwardness of George snapping at Wilbur earlier mostly gone as the sun set and cast a relaxing glow over the clearing.

“I’d like to apologize for what I said earlier. I was out of line and, as a representative of a lord, I shouldn’t have spoken like that. So, I’m truly and deeply sorry, my prince,” Wilbur spoke softly, so as to not be overheard by the two pitching tents. George didn’t reply out loud, but the kind smile he sent to Wilbur was enough for the knight to know he had been forgiven by the young prince. “We should be able to arrive at Lord Philza’s castle by lunchtime tomorrow.”

“Hmm, do you think he’ll have any new leads on the hybrid?” George asked, pulling one of the fish off the fire and handing it over. “We need as much information as possible, we want to take it alive and collared instead of dead.”

The knight ate some of his fish as he thought, “He might, but it’s likely that all that I found is all that we have.”

George hummed again thoughtfully, but he didn’t say anything more as Bad and Sapnap sat down. He silently handed them their fish, and Bad handed out fruit that he had in his bag. Wilbur had a guitar that he strummed gently as the sun fully vanished. Soft chords lulled Sapnap and Bad to sleep, George leaning against a tree trunk as he attempted to keep watch.

“ _ I know there is a special place we could run to, so far away. . .away from the cruelty of our neighbors. Oh, this place is real, I promise you, and will always remain through and through. It’s a place for us to live all together. This land I love you. . .oh land I love you. . .this land I love you. . . _ my _ land I love you _ ,” Wilbur sang quietly, nostalgia tinging every word and making the entire song have a sad, but hopeful, tone. “ _ For freedom and for liberty, across the kingdom to the sea, I will find you someday in this great land. When darkness came, and darkness left, we found a safe great place to rest, and from the dark emerged this peaceful land. This land I love you. . .oh land I love you. . .this land I love you. . .my land I love you. _ ”

George’s eyes blinked shut, feeling like cement was weighing them down. Before he fully fell asleep he made sure to tell Wilbur, “Wake me when you need to sleep, I can take watch.”

Wilbur hummed quietly, his guitar still playing soft chords and George let the music guide him into dreams. His sleep was plagued with images of a flying monster with three heads, raining death and destruction upon the land below. He woke up in a cold sweat to Wilbur shaking his shoulder gently. The knight offered him a calming smile, “It’s been about four hours, can you take watch for the rest of the night?”

“Of course,” the prince said, sitting up and pulling his sword out and setting it on the ground next to him. Wilbur nodded, moving to lie down at his spot next to the fire. George gazed past the trees and into the woods as far as the light from the fire reached. A branch cracked and his head snapped around towards the path they had been on. His eyes landed on a figure that was crouched down and staring back at him. He stood up slowly, his diamond sword in his hand, grip relaxed but ready in case the figure moved. The figure stood as well, moving into the light slowly.

“Do you have any clean cloth you could spare? My brother is hurt and bleeding,” the figure was a young boy in a dirty dark yellow cloak and black pants. He had dark brown hair that fell in his face, round cheeks giving him a youthful appearance. “I heard someone playing the guitar, and I thought you might be able to help.”

George gestured for him to come forward, moving to dig through the bag he knew had extra bandages because Sapnap was paranoid about injuries. The boy fiddled with his hands as his eyes flickered to the three men asleep around the fire. His eyes went wide at the sight of Sapnap’s polished armor and diamond axe which were sitting within reach of the sleeping guard. He seemed to debate something before finally walking closer to the camp.

George found the bandages and held them out to the boy, “Here you go, kid. Do you want a healing potion too? We have plenty.”

“Uhm. . .” the boy cautiously took the bandages, “I have no money, those are too expensive for me to just take one.”

“No, it wouldn’t be a problem. Like I said, we have plenty,” George brushed the boy’s concerns aside and went to grab a potion. A small dagger suddenly pressed against his throat and a hand covered his mouth. His eyes widened and he tried to grab his sword from where it was sitting on the ground near the bag, but it was just out of reach.

“Listen here, big man, we’re taking that entire bag of healing stuff, and anything else we can fit into it. If you make any noise that’ll wake up your friends, I’ll slit your throat faster than they can wake up,” a voice growled lowly in George’s ear, but the hand covering his mouth was too small, fingers too slim for George to actually feel threatened. “Got it, pretty boy?”

George nodded slowly to avoid the dagger cutting him. The boy in yellow looked terrified, but at a cue from the person holding George captive, he quickly jumped to work collecting the bag’s scattered contents. George tried to pull away from the hand, but the dagger pressed against his throat as a warning and he froze. He could tell the person behind him was scrawny, but he could feel enough strength in the grip the hand had on his mouth to know the threat from earlier wasn’t exactly without weight. The prince braced himself before he bit down harshly on the hand, causing it to be ripped away with a startled shout of pain. The dagger was dropped, and George dropped into a roll. He hopped back to his feet, sword in hand, and pulled the yellow boy in front of him, holding the blade to his throat.

“Tommy! Tommy, what the hell?” the boy yelped, dropping the bag in his hand and clutching George’s arm with trembling hands. The other boy, in a tattered brown cloak, was staring at George in shock, the dagger in his hands shaking as he glanced between the yellow cloaked boy’s and George’s faces.

Tommy flinched as Sapnap grabbed his arms and pinned them behind his back, the guard awoken by the noise. He struggled briefly, but Sapnap easily flung him to the ground and pinned him there with a knee in the center of his back. Curses flew from the thin boy’s mouth as he tried to throw Sapnap off him, “You lug, you better get off me! I’ll kill you the second you lower your guard! Don’t even think about hurting Tubbo, I’ll tear you all apart!”

The shouts woke up Bad and Wilbur, who both sat up groggily. Bad wiped the sleep from his eyes and blinked at the scene in front of him with confusion. Wilbur’s eyes snapped to the blonde boy Sapnap had pinned in the dirt and groaned in annoyance. He stood up and the yellow cloaked boy, Tubbo if Tommy’s threats were to be believed, shrank back into George’s hold. The knight frowned in the perfect imitation of a disappointed parent, and the blonde boy slowly stopped struggling as he noticed the knight.

“Tommy. Tubbo. You have about one minute to tell me why you’re out here in the middle of the night trying to rob travellers,” Wilbur said curtly, eyes glancing between the two boys.

Both started to speak at the same time, stopping and making eye contact before Tommy continued speaking, “Big W, you know me. . . would I actually ever rob someone? It’s all just a joke, we thought we’d welcome you back before you got all the way home.”

“You held a dagger to my head, what kind of joke is that?” George’s voice was incredulous, but his grip on the diamond sword loosened as he realized Wilbur knew the duo.

Tubbo laughed quietly as Tommy stuttered over his words when Wilbur leveled an angry glare at him. George let him go and sheathed his sword, nodding to Sapnap who reluctantly stood up. The guard grabbed Tommy’s upper arm and pulled the thin, but very tall, boy to his feet. Tommy brushed himself off and moved quickly to stand slightly in front of Tubbo, unconsciously separating him from George.

“Well you’re the prick who was bragging about having so many healing pots, can you blame a man for wanting to get easy drugs?” Tommy flung his arms open in a placating gesture. He had a grin on his face that seemed very nervous, but had charm behind it like a businessman in training.

Wilbur ran a hand over his face with a long suffering sigh. Sapnap stood next to George, diamond axe in hand as he kept a glare on his face. The prince knew it would take more than Wilbur’s trust to get the guard to trust the two boys, so George just placed a hand on Sapnap’s wrist and gave him a look that he hoped Sapnap would understand. The guard frowned, obviously not pleased as he slipped the axe into its sheath and slipped it into the harness behind his back. Bad offered a smile to the yellow cloaked boy, “Are you hungry? We’re still pretty far from Phil’s place, so unless you two moved since I saw you last you traveled quite far without horses.”

“A bit, but we can wait until we get home,” Tubbo replied with a shy smile.

“Nonsense, friends of mine will not go hungry if I have food to give them,” Bad replied, pulling out a loaf of bread and a small container of honey currant jam. Tubbo’s smile grew and he sat down next to the advisor quickly, accepting the bread gratefully. Tommy was slower to sit down, and he only ate his piece of bread when he saw Wilbur eating his. George went to care for the horses, not feeling hungry after his early morning panic. Sapnap joined him shortly, stroking his stallion’s nose gently as it nudged his shoulder.

“I know,” George said, cutting Sapnap off before the guard could even open his mouth to speak. “You don’t like this, I know. You don’t trust them, I get it. You think two kids will slow us down, and I agree. But Wilbur and Bad seem to like them, so they’re coming with us. Wilbur and Bad will each take one on their horses.”

Sapnap huffed, eyes going across the clearing to study the boys who were laughing as they helped Bad and Wilbur take down the tents. He looked like he wanted to argue, but he straightened up and nodded curtly, “Yes, my prince.”

“Sap-” the guard walked away to where Wilbur had tied Fernando and Penelope. He was quick to busy himself with saddeling them and checking all of the straps. George cursed himself for angering his friend, making a mental promise to make it up to Sapnap by stealing his favorite dessert from the kitchen. He gently rubbed his stallion’s flank, after double checking both his and Sapnap’s tack to make sure the leather wasn’t cracked or wearing down. Bad’s sudden presence at his elbow startled him and he accidentally tightened a strap too much, getting an annoyed snort from the palomino Andalusian. He quickly fixed his mistake and soothed his stallion, “Bad, you scared me. Do you need something?”

“As. . .your advisor, I-”

“The kids can come with us, Bad, but they have to ride with you and Sapnap,” George said, noticing the hesitation in his friend’s voice. The bright smile that lit up his face made George laugh, returning the enthusiastic hug he was given. “Hurry up and grab the bags, I’m sure Sapnap is done with tacking up your horses.”

Bad nodded and rushed back to Wilbur to grab the tents and bags. The knight checked to make sure the fire was out before filling in the pit. The two boys stood awkwardly, obviously not sure what to do to avoid getting in the way and delaying the men. Tubbo ended up on Fernando with Bad, while Penelope reluctantly allowed Tommy to climb up and sit behind Wilbur on the saddle. Wilbur and George took the lead again, Tubbo easily striking up a friendly conversation with Bad and Sapnap. Tommy remained silent, staring off to the side and ignoring every attempt at conversation Wilbur tried to weasel him into. Eventually Wilbur gave up and spoke to George about where the wither hybrid had been roughly tracked to. Tommy seemed to want to say something, but he remained stubbornly silent. The conversation eventually made its way to the topic of the enchanted collar George had safely stowed in his bag, which seemed to really catch Tommy’s attention. The boy tugged on his cloak with slight discomfort on his face, shrinking down against Wilbur’s back to make himself less visible. Tubbo’s voice went quieter as George explained the enchantments to Wilbur.

“The main enchantment serves to block the hybrid powers, whatever they may be. It basically prevents the hybrid from using any of the inhuman abilities it has. The other enchantments aren’t as important, weakness and binding, but they help to prevent it from hurting anyone,” George absentmindedly traced the enchantment language that was engraved on the collar on his stallion’s shoulder with a finger as he explained. His enchantments were weak, but he was fluent in the language which helped him understand the way the collar was meant to work. “It will drain the hybrid’s powers the moment it closes around its neck, but it takes a few minutes for any threat from the hybrid to be neutralized.”

“It doesn’t hurt the hybrid, does it?” Tubbo’s voice asked timidly, peeking out from his seat behind Bad. “I don’t like people hurting anyone.”

“I didn’t ask. It’s not like the hybrids care about hurting us,” George said with a short laugh, glancing back momentarily to catch the young boy’s gaze with a kind smile. The boy gave him a timid smile, but it lit up into a huge grin as the trees finally cleared to reveal the grand walls of Lord Philza’s land. The lord in question was on a horse, waiting for the group just inside the walls. A neutral expression was set firmly in place, but a frown flickered when the lord saw Tommy peek out from behind Wilbur.

The lord smiled when George nodded at him, bowing as well as he could while on a horse. He gestured towards the palace, “I have arranged food for you and rooms so you can rest tonight, my prince. I will not allow you to go after a wither hybrid without being well rested.”

“Thank you, my lord. I trust you’ll also be able to take care of these two who joined us?” George said with a small smile, gesturing vaguely to Tommy and Tubbo.

The prince almost felt bad for the two boys as the lord leveled an even stare at them. They both shrunk down in their seats, not meeting his eyes. Lord Philza rolled his eyes fondly, but nodded to the prince, “I’m sure the stables and kitchens could use some help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went a little overboard with this chapter,, its MUCH longer than I was expecting. I hope you all enjoyed!!  
> <3 MF
> 
> Buy me a coffee?  
> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=48986694


	4. listen to those who love you (chapter 3)

Lord Philza’s wife met them as they entered the castle grounds. She was holding a soft blue cloak in her arms, a kind smile greeting the travelers. The lady curtsied deeply to George when he dismounted. He smiled and bowed his head to her before she straightened and pulled him into a hug. After his mother’s death, she had tried to take the place of a mother for the young prince, visiting with him whenever Lord Philza had to go to court in the palace. She pulled George’s heavy traveling cloak off and quickly fastened the soft blue one she was holding around his shoulders. A gentle hand smoothed out the wrinkles and he couldn’t keep the smile off his face.

“Hello, Lady Kristen. I have a gift for you, but I couldn’t bring it on this trip. If you come to the palace, I can give it to you then, or I can have the dressmaker send it to you,” George said quietly, walking with her hand resting on his arm as the others spoke with Philza and handed horses and bags to the various servants who had been waiting. 

Lady Kristen laughed and smacked his arm gently, “I told you not to do that. Was it Phil who gave you the measurements? I bet it was, that man never listens.”

Her teasing tone made George know she wasn’t actually upset. He could hear Philza laugh behind them, and when he turned Philza gently punched his shoulder, “Is the wife talking bad about me again?”

“Oh, never, darling,” Kristen replied with an equally teasing tone. “How could I speak anything bad of you to our darling prince?”

George laughed and Kristen set her hand gently on Philza’s arm, kissing his cheek softly. Sapnap and Bad were standing behind Wilbur, who seemed to be waiting for his parents to keep walking. Tommy had been sent to the stables to help with the horses while Tubbo had rushed to the kitchen gleefully to help finish the food. George gestured for Sapnap and Bad to stand closer to him, and the two did after a moment of hesitation. The group reached a set of doors and a servant was quick to open them, revealing a modest dining room.

“I figured you wouldn’t want anything too grand, you’re still the modest boy I helped raise,” Philza said with a smile, noticing the obvious relief on George’s face.

“Thank you, Phil. You’re always too kind. We can share a room so it’s not too much extra work for your servants,” George offered, Sapnap and Bad nodding their agreement. Philza and Kristen sat at the table, George and Wilbur following their lead. Sapnap and Bad hesitantly sat down when Kristen gave them an encouraging nod.

A few servants quickly walked in, carrying platters with roasted duck and potatoes. Tubbo grinned at them brightly, setting down the boats of gravy he had been carrying. He gave Kristen a hug, and she smiled warmly as he scampered off after the chef. Wilbur and Philza filled the silence with stories about Tommy and Tubbo. Sapnap almost choked on his food when he started laughing at the story of Tommy getting stuck in a small cave for almost three hours before Tubbo found him and got help. Kristen quickly took control of the conversation, steering it towards more important topics. George joined the conversation about the nearby kingdom that had been threatening Philza’s land. Bad had a frown on his face as he asked about the orphans that had been living on the farm that was targeted by the other kingdom. After a few minutes of important talk, the door opened again and Tommy walked in slowly.

“‘Ello, everyone,” he said with a loud voice. “Father, mother, you both look dashing today.”

“Flattery won’t get you out of punishment for skipping your lessons and taking Tubbo with you to terrorize travellers,” Kristen said sternly. The teen flushed and looked at his feet, shifting his weight awkwardly. “What were you thinking? You are the son of a lord, you need to start acting like it.”

“Mother, I-”

“Tommy,” Philza cut off the excuse before the blond could even start it. “Go get Tubbo. You can eat with him, and tomorrow you’ll apologize to your teacher and stay in class instead of going on patrol with Sir Eret.”

Tommy’s wide eyes shot up, a stunned expression on his face. His mouth opened and closed like a fish as he thought things over. He dropped his shoulders and sighed, “Yes, father.”

The young boy slouched as he sulked towards the kitchen. Wilbur watched him leave with the quiet laughter of an older brother who didn’t want to get in trouble. George noticed Bad attempting to hide his grin as he watched Tommy vanish through the door. The prince turned back to the lord, clearing his throat quietly.

“My lord, as good as it has been to catch up with you and as informative as this conversation has been, we are here for the wither hybrid. Bad said you might have gotten more information since he left, and anything will be helpful,” George said, keeping his voice level as he met the steady gaze of Philza.

Philza hummed quietly, “We have heard very little from hybrids recently. They aren’t being aggressive or violent so much as they are stealing food and supplies.”

“Do you think they’re planning something?” Sapnap asked, his eyes sharp as he started thinking about the possible reasons for hybrid forces to stock up on nonlethal items. “Do you have any spies who could infiltrate any hybrid strongholds?”

“We don’t know for sure. My spies are focused on the other kingdom. An organized force with a single leader is much more dangerous to my people than a few hybrid protests or terrorists,” Philza replied. Sapnap nodded with a small frown, sitting back in his chair as a single for George to take over the conversation. “To answer your request, my prince, we have a rough area as to where the wither might live. A zone that is only roughly ten square miles, but it’s in the middle of a thick forest.”

George nodded slowly. He brushed a hand over his sash unconsciously as he thought things through. A moment of silence passed before he spoke up again, “Lord Barkley gave us a collar that can suppress the hybrid’s powers. How dangerous is this wither? I’ve heard stories of the ancient beast, but hybrids aren’t nearly as powerful as the full monsters they share traits with.”

“The wither is extraordinarily destructive and dangerous. The last time a knight tried to capture it, he came back missing a limb and unable to stop stuttering about explosions that flew from the hands of the wither. We have no idea how much was true and how much was the ramblings of a mad man,” Philza spoke slowly, meeting Kristen’s sad gaze. “George, son, we don’t want to see you injured. Are you sure you don’t want more guards?”

“Lord Philza, all due respect to you, but I have full faith in Sapnap’s ability to protect me and my ability to protect myself. I am not an incompetent fighter,” George said, slightly defensive in tone. 

Wilbur glanced over. He had gone silent when the topic had changed to the wither, but he seemed to be deep in thought. The knight finally spoke up, “Father, what if Techno and I accompanied them to the forest? Once they enter the forest, we would leave and let them continue on their own to find the wither.”

George made eye contact with the knight and gave him a grateful smile as Philza seemed to think about the suggestion. The lord glanced between Sapnap and George, the former focusing on his plate and avoiding eye contact while the later looked straight back at the lord. Philza sighed, “If that’s what it takes to ensure your safety for at least part of your journey, then I have no problems with it. Wilbur, you’re the one who has to convince Techno to go with you.”

Wilbur grinned confidently, “That won’t be a problem, I’m sure the blood god would love a chance to potentially fight people. If there’s no complaints, I’m going to retire from the table and speak to him now.”

Philza waved his hand in approval, and Wilbur vanished from the room. Kristen sighed softly, taking a short drink before meeting George’s eyes, “When you’re finished with your meal, feel free to go to whichever room you’d like. All of the guest wing is currently empty.”

“Thank you, Kristen,” George replied with a smile. She nodded to him before excusing herself and leaving the table, smiling to the servant who opened the door for her. The servant rushed to the table, whispering something to Philza.

“Thank you, I’ll be right there,” Philza said, turning back to the trio seated at the table. “I don’t want to be a bad host, but I must dismiss myself to take care of something. Take all the time you need to eat. If you decide you want more than one room, take your pick of any of the guest rooms. As Kristen said, they’re all empty so you have no competition.”

The trio offered the lord their thanks as he left. They ate in companionable silence, each thinking about different things. George found his thoughts going to Skeppy and Dream more than they had in recent years. Wilbur’s comments during the journey had obviously struck a nerve deeper than he intended. The prince remembered the bright grin Skeppy always had, and the intense pain the boy had been in the last time he had ever been seen by the group. He remembered Dream’s bright yellow, well, green, eyes that always sparkled with mischief and intelligence even at their young age. Above those, though, George remembered how good the two were. How Skeppy would defend Bad from the others, how Dream would bring George apples every time they met after George complained about the palace not having any one day. The two vanishing had shattered George and Sapnap’s hearts, but Skeppy’s disappearance had absolutely destroyed Bad. He stopped hanging out with George and Sapnap as much, spending more time at home, reading and helping his mother with the bakery. George shook himself out of his thoughts when he realized Sapnap had said his name.

“What?”

“Geeze, George, I thought you were going to kill the plate with the way you were frowning at it,” Sapnap said in a teasing voice. “I was just saying that we might want to leave the horses here, to be safe. Ten square miles will be annoying to cover on foot, but not impossible. The horses might not even be able to navigate the forest.”

George hummed thoughtfully, “I’m sure the horses wouldn’t mind spending time in Phil’s stables. Bad, you agree that it’s a good idea?”

“Yeah, I don’t like the idea of the horses possibly getting hurt because they couldn’t run through the forest,” Bad agreed. He was sitting cross legged in his chair, one hand holding up his face.

Sapnap grinned brightly, “Perfect! Then we leave the horses here and we get to take a nice hike with Wilbur and Technoblad with plenty of bonding time.”

George groaned, dropping his head into his hands, “Please, for the love of all that is holy, do not embarrass me in front of  the  blood god. Wilbur’s twin just happens to be the greatest warrior in this kingdom, and I swear on the soul of the ender dragon if you make a fool out of me I will make sure you never get knighted.”

“I would  never , Georgie, nothing but respect from me,” Sapnap said with an overly sweet tone, his grin making George groan again. “But if I don’t get out of these travel clothes soon I will go to Wilbur and tell him embarrassing stories about you as a kid.”

“Let’s go then, I’m finished eating,” George said, rolling his eyes as Sapnap practically threw himself out of his chair. Bad stood with more dignity, laughing as Sapnap almost tripped over the bags at the foot of his chair. The advisor grabbed a few of the bags. George tried to grab his bags, but Sapnap slapped his hand. “I’m not above carrying bags, Sappity.”

“You need to act like a crown prince, or your dad will have mine and Bad’s heads for letting you make a fool out of yourself,” Sapnap replied, leaving George to rub his hand where he had smacked it. “One of you needs to be in the lead right now, I’ve never been here.”

Bad laughed and stepped in front of him, easily guiding them through the halls. He would wave or smile to almost every servant, and they all greeted him by name. It made George think back on all the years where Bad had vanished from their lives. He couldn’t help but realize how Bad was practically a stranger even though he had written to Sapnap and George at least every other month. That realization sent more pain through his heart than he had expected and he found his eyes watering up when they reached the privacy of one of the larger guest rooms. As soon as Bad set his bags down, George wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug. Bad yelped, slightly startled by the sudden embrace, but quickly returned the hug, squeezing George tightly.

“Bad, I missed you so much,” George whispered quietly, letting the tears fall. Sapnap and Bad shared a confused look, not used to the prince showing emotions. “Sorry, sorry. Just got overwhelmed.”

“You don’t have to say sorry for hugging me, muffin-head,” Bad replied with an equally quiet voice. “But what happened to make this happen?”

“Wilbur, uh, we were talking about our childhoods and I mentioned Skeppy and Dream. He asked if they were hybrids, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about them and how much I miss them and you,” George muttered, pulling out of the hug and smoothing any wrinkles out of his clothes. “It’s not a big deal, just a bit overwhelming.”

Bad’s face was strangely empty of emotion as he took in what George had said. Sapnap glanced between the two and forced out a laugh that was slightly too fake, “Dream and Skeppy?  Hybrids ? You obviously didn’t tell him much about those two, there’s no way they could be hybrids.”

George laughed softly, nodding his agreement, “Out of all of us, I might’ve expected you or Bad to be hybrids from how you two acted when we were younger.”

Sapnap let out an offended noise, tackling the prince to the ground and the two playfully started wrestling. Bad laughed at their antics, stepping around them carefully to change out of his uncomfortable travel clothes. Sapnap eventually managed to pin George’s arms while sitting on his legs so he couldn’t squirm out of Sapnap’s grip. The prince and guard tried to catch their breath, but they both kept laughing too hard. Sapnap rolled off George and lay next to him, the two just laughing as Bad sat in a chair and pulled out a book to read. They finally managed to stop their laughter, struggling to catch their breath as they both stood up to get changed.

“Speaking of hybrids and people acting strange, that Tubbo kid really didn’t like it when you started talking about the wither and the collar,” Sapnap said as he pulled his shirt off and grabbed a soft sleep shirt from his bag. Bad glanced up from his book with interest. “He got really quiet.”

“He’s still young, he might just not understand how dangerous hybrids can be. If he grew up in Phil’s castle, he probably has never seen a hybrid. Let alone seen someone killed by one,” George reasoned, noticing Bad’s shoulder loose some of the tension at his words.

Sapnap shrugged, “I just thought it was weird. The kid wouldn’t shut up, and then you mention hybrids and he gets all quiet.”

“I mean, he is still a kid, Sapnap. He said he doesn’t like people getting hurt, and he might’ve been scared at the thought of a dangerous hybrid so close to his home,” Bad spoke up. “Did Tommy react to the collar at all, George?”

“He was interested, I could tell. He stared at it like he was trying to read and memorize all the enchantments,” George replied, pulling out the collar in question from his bag in order to grab his sleep clothes. He set the collar down on the desk in the room. The soft glimmer of the enchantments cast a faint glow on the wood. Bad set his book down and Sapnap glanced at the collar with a faint amount of discomfort. 

“Do you think it does hurt them? The wither skeleton seemed to be really weak, but I didn’t even think about if it was in pain,” Sapnap muttered quietly, stepping closer to the collar and brushing his fingers over the cold metal.

George paused, sleep shirt halfway over his head, and glanced sideways at the collar. He pulled the shirt all the way over his head, running a hand through his hair to smooth it down. The short sleeves exposed the jagged scar that ran down the entirety of his left arm. Bad’s eyes widened at the sight of it, and he was at the prince’s side in mere seconds. He grabbed George’s arm and touched the scar gently.

“When did this happen?”

“It’s not important,” George said, pulling his arm away and moving towards the large bed. “I’ll tell you later, but right now I’m tired and want to sleep.”

Sapnap shrugged and flung himself onto the bed next to George, “Cuddle with me!”

“Get away from me or I’ll kick you out of this bed,” George threatened, but his laughter ruined the threat. Bad laughed as he lay down on the couch. All three of them were asleep within a few minutes, Sapnap and George curling into each other like they had when they were children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this slightly more chill chapter. Please leave any criticism or questions in the comments!!  
> Thank you for reading  
> <3 MF
> 
> Buy me a coffee?  
> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=48986694


	5. make sure you know the enemy (chapter 4)

George was the first to wake up. The morning sun was starting to creep over the horizon, gentle beams slipping through the window next to the bed. The prince took a few minutes to simply appreciate the comforting feeling of Sapnap’s arms wrapped around him before he carefully slipped out of Sapnap’s arms. He stood up and stretched his arms over his head. His back cracked and he let out a quiet groan, rolling his neck around to stretch out the pains from the day prior’s horse ride. Bad shifted and sat up on the sofa, sending George a half-asleep smile as he stood up.

“Good morning,” Bad said quietly, voice rough with sleep. He moved over to his bag, grabbing his normal clothes and changing quickly. “What time do you plan to leave?”

“I have a feeling Kristen and Phil are going to want us to eat a meal with them, but I would like to leave before midday,” George answered, changing into his tunic and pants. He glanced into the mirror and groaned. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to fix it but really only making it worse. Bad laughed at him, stepping over and fixing the mess that George had made his hair into. He also adjusted the high collar of George’s tunic, making sure it was sitting evenly and without wrinkles. “Thank you, Bad.”

“What would you do without me?” Bad replied in a teasing voice. George laughed softly, looking back out the window to where the day was slowly growing brighter. “I’ll wake up Sap, you can-”

A knock rang out on the door, waking Sapnap up immediately. The guard grabbed his sword and pulled George behind him without being fully awake or aware. Bad laughed at Sapnap’s reaction, walking to the door as George took Sapnap’s sword and tossed it on the bed. Bad had a quiet conversation with the person at the door, nodding a few times before he stepped back into the room and closed the door. Sapnap was more awake now, face flushed as he realized what he did.

“Uh, sorry,” he muttered, ears red. George laughed and shook his head, shoving Sapnap towards his bag to get him to start changing. “When are we leaving?”

“That was a servant, they said we were welcome to show up to the dining hall whenever we are ready,” Bad answered, gesturing to the door.

“Awesome,” Sapnap replied with a groan. George hummed his agreement as he perched on top of the desk, one knee tucked up and one leg dangling down. Sapnap slid his belt on, making sure his sword was in place before turning to the other two. “Chairs exist for a reason, George.”

George rolled his eyes at him, “Oh, shut up, Sap.”

Bad laughed at the two of them, stepping over to the door. Sapnap and George followed him, both knowing the way back to the hall but not bothering to walk ahead of Bad. Two guards stood at the door to the dining hall, and they were quick to open the door for the trio. Philza and Kristen were already seated, eating a small meal. Wilbur and Tommy were sitting with them. Tommy was obviously telling a story, his hands gesturing everywhere as he spoke. Wilbur was the first who noticed them when they entered the halls, smiling warmly.

“Hello boys! Ready for our adventure?” the knight asked, cutting off his younger brother’s story. “Techno ate already, he’s going over a few things with the temporary head of guard since this was rather last minute.”

“Good morning Phil, Kristen. Hello Wilbur and Tommy,” George said with a small smile. “We’re as ready as we’ll ever be. I’d like to leave before midday, preferably sooner.”

Kristen smiled, “Of course, George. We don’t want to keep you too long, but I just didn’t want you to travel without a nice meal.”

Sapnap and Bad sat next to Wilbur and Tommy. Bad easily started a conversation with the youngest, letting him ramble on about how annoying his studies were. George sat next to Kristen, accepting the fruit she offered him with a small smile. He was comfortable to eat in silence, letting Tommy’s loud voice carry over the table as the boy started gesturing wildly again. Wilbur rolled his eyes at his brother’s dramatics, making eye contact with George and sharing a small smile. When everyone had finished, the sun had risen a fair amount, but it was still well before noon. 

Kristen gave George a tight hug when they stood up, “Make sure to be safe. I can’t lose you like I lost your mother.”

“Of course, Kristen. I’m always safe, especially with Sapnap,” George reassured her, hugging the lady back with a smile. Philza held his hand out, which George accepted only to be pulled into a hug by the lord. “Phil! We’ll be back by sunset tomorrow.”

“I know, can I not hug the prince who’s basically my son?” Philza asked with a warm laugh. George rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t hide the smile on his face.

Sapnap and Bad had a bag each, and Sapnap was holding an extra for George. They were lightly packed since the trio didn’t expect the trip to take too long, only holding sleeping roles, a bit of food, and water. A tall knight had entered the hall and was standing next to Wilbur. A full set of armor hid all of his features, but the deadly sharp and enchanted netherite axe strapped to his back was enough for George to guess that this was Techno, or the infamous Blade.

“Are you ready?” Wilbur asked, hands clasped in front of him. “If we go now, we could easily make it to the forest so you have several hours of daylight left to search around.”

“Let’s leave then! We don’t want to spend too long out in the dark,” George said, grabbing his bag from Sapnap despite the guard’s protests. Sapnap stood closer to George when the prince got closer to the stranger next to Wilbur, hand resting on the handle of his axe. “You must be Techno?”

“My prince,” the knight replied in a monotone voice, bowing at the waist, “I’m glad to finally meet you. I hope I meet any expectations you have.”

“I’m sure you will, Techno. It’s an honor to have you with us. This is my guard, soon to be my personal knight, Sapnap,” George gestured for Sapnap to step forward, which the guard did after a moment of hesitation. Techno seemed to size him up before offering an armored hand, which Sapnap shook firmly.

“Blade. I’ve heard lots of stories,” Sapnap said, obviously trying to stay calm despite his discomfort with being near the man.

Techno hummed quietly, “I’m sure I will be saying the same about you soon. It’s not anyone who gets to be the Crown Prince’s personal knight.”

Wilbur sighed deeply from next to Techno, “Yes, yes, you’re both strong and can fight. Let’s go!”

Bad and George both laughed with Wilbur as the other two muttered under their breath. Wilbur walked with George, leading the small group out of the castle and out of the side gate. There was a well maintained road leading towards the distant woods that they could barely see from the castle wall. George fell out of step with Wilbur, falling back to walk next to Sapnap and discuss plans. Bad was more than happy to move up to Wilbur’s side, the two speaking brightly as they walked. Techno took up the end silently, armor glinting dangerously in the harsh glare of the sun. The awkwardness of the horse ride was completely gone as Bad laughed and shared stories with the knight about what had happened after he left. Water was passed around with bread after a few hours of walking, but none of the group wanted to actually stop to eat. Wilbur and Techno wanted to be able to get home before dark, and the trio wanted to have as much time as possible to locate the wither.

Techno waited on top of a hill as Wilbur walked them to the edge of the forest. Trees loomed over them, branches twisting up like hands clawing at the sky. The road went from being well maintained to almost impossible to follow, overgrowth crowding the forest floor. Wilbur gave an apologetic smile as he gestured towards the forest, “This is as far as I go, gents. The wither, to the best of our knowledge, is within twenty miles of the start of the forest. You might be able to find it before dark.”

“Thank you, Wilbur. Tell Techno I appreciate his time,” George said, raising a hand in a wave to the knight. Techno inclined his head, not moving from his position on the hill. Wilbur nodded, giving a quick but respectful bow to the prince and a nod to the other two before walking back to his brother. “Ready to go catch a hybrid?”

“Ugh, don’t say it like that, makes it sound like some sort of animal,” Sapnap said with a slightly uncomfortable expression. “Can we at least refer to it as a prisoner?”

George shrugged while Bad nodded his agreement. They pushed into the forest, Sapnap using his axe to cut branches and overgrowth out of the way. George had his sword out, and his eyes scanned through the trees for any movement. Bad was behind the other two, his fingers twitching and fidgeting with the handle of his throwing knife. The advisor was silent as they kept making their way through the forest, seemingly lost in thought as Sapnap and George spoke quietly. A quiet rustling sound from the trees made the advisor freeze, the other two stopping when they realized Bad had stopped.

“Bad?”

“Shh,” Bad stared into the trees where he heard the noise, eyes straining to see any sort of movement. He stumbled back when a person suddenly lunged out of the trees, throwing his knife with practiced ease. The person was knocked backwards as the knife caught their sleeve and pinned it to a tree. George yelped as Bad almost fell on him, catching himself and swinging his sword out to block the person’s strike at Bad.

“Identify yourself!” Sapnap shouted, brandishing his axe as a warning and a threat. The person glanced between George’s sword and Sapnap’s axe, weighing their options. They dropped their own sword, and pulled their arm free from where Bad’s knife was pinning it. They put their hands up and flipped the hood of their cloak down.

“What is the crown prince doing in the Withering Woods?” the person questioned, solid black eyes making George suck in a quiet breath. The hybrid face was mostly covered, but its eyes were exposed and it had a deadly sharpness in its gaze. “One would think that the king would be smart enough to avoid sending his only child to the most deadly of hybrids.”

“You’re the wither hybrid,” George said, ignoring the smirk that was obvious in the hybrid’s eyes. “Under the decree of King Daniel, your presence in this land is illegal and by remaining here you have made yourself a traitor to the crown.”

The hybrid tilted its head, black eyes studying the trio with interest, “Can I get you anything to eat or drink? My house is just this way and you’ve obviously been walking for a while.”

Bad and Sapnap shared a confused look behind George’s back. They had expected a fight, but the hybrid seemed perfectly calm despite the weapons pointed at it. George frowned, “Why would we go anywhere with you?”

“Because you’re in my woods. I know more about this place than you know about yourself. I could easily kill you and hide your bodies where no one would ever find them,” the hybrid replied with a shrug. Its hands pulled the gloves it was wearing off, revealing hands that were nothing more than just bones. George’s eyes followed the movement, widening at the sight of the skeletal hands. The hybrid raised on hand, casually flicking its wrist sideways. A small explosion hit the ground a few feet away from the trio, sending rocks and dirt everywhere. “I am a wither hybrid after all. The strongest hybrid to ever step foot in this kingdom. Now, come on. I’ll go with you if you’ll just take some time to talk with me.”

George gestured for Sapnap to stand close to him, Bad stepping up to stand on his other side. The prince nodded to the hybrid, “I accept your terms of arrest. But if any of us think you are about to cause us harm, we will not hesitate to subdue you.”

The hybrid shrugged carelessly. It turned and started walking into the forest, leaving the trio to follow behind. George and Sapnap kept their weapons at the ready, Bad retrieved his throwing knife and continued to fidget with its handle as they moved through the forest. The trees got too compact for them to stay shoulder to shoulder, forcing them to move into a single file line. Bad kept glancing behind him, feeling like he could hear something moving in the trees just out of view. He brushed off the feeling, putting it aside as paranoia because of how close they were to such a deadly hybrid. The hybrid eventually led them into a small clearing with a cottage-like house in the middle. There was a small pond surrounded by a garden next to a pen with a few cows and sheep. A handful of chickens wandered around, pecking at the ground and clucking quietly. It was peaceful for the dwelling of a hybrid. The hybrid opened the door to the cottage, gesturing for the trio to go inside first. Once inside, it pulled the face coverings off. The hybrid’s hair was cut short and it had a well trimmed beard. Its light brown skin had wrinkles around its eyes and mouth from smiling. It walked over to the table, sitting down and waiting for the trio.

“So, you’re here to arrest me, but what all do you know about me?”

“We know you’re a deadly hybrid who chooses to live in a land that they are not legally allowed to inhabit,” George replied shortly. 

The hybrid snorted a quiet laugh, “I’ll tell you about myself then. You can call me Ponk, I used to live in the outskirts of the capital. My mother was a florist, my father was a farmer. I had a brother who wanted to be a knight. They were all killed by an accidental explosion when I was nine. I still blame myself, even though I had no control over my hybrid powers at that time.”

The trio sat in silence for a few seconds, not expecting the words that had left the hybrid. George, against his will, thought about his own mother who he watched die when he was only nine. His hand unconsciously rubbed the scar under his sleeve, a motion not unnoticed by the hybrid.

“I know your mother died when you were nine, prince. We are not that different,” Ponk said softly, deep sadness in the solid black eyes.

“You know nothing about me. We are nothing alike,” George snarled. Sapnap placed a gentle hand on the prince’s shoulder, grounding him and offering a small amount of comfort. George forced his anger down, putting on a facade of calm. “Your attempt to get pity isn’t going to work. You are still a traitor to the crown, and we will still take you as a prisoner.”

“And I said I would go willingly. I was simply trying to be a good host since you came all this way. Would you like anything to eat or drink?” Ponk asked with a slightly sarcastic tone, folding his hands on the table. Bad’s head snapped towards the window, frowning deeply as he looked out. 

His eyes widened and he flung himself towards George and Sapnap, “Get back!”

An explosion tore through the clearing, the blast wave sending all four inside the house flying back. George felt himself hit a wall hard, cracking noises that he briefly recognized as his bones echoing in his ears. Pain flared up across his entire body. He could hear more explosions booming nearby, but all he was focused on was the support beam of the roof that had fallen and pinned his leg. The prince struggled weakly, trying to free himself as he heard Sapnap weakly shouting for him and Bad. Another explosion sent rubble tumbling his way, a few pieces slamming into his head before he could get his hands up to protect it. Yells filled the clearing and he vaguely registered the debris moving off of him as his eyes fell shut and unconsciousness took him.

Bright sunlight greeted George when he blearily opened his eyes. He turned his head and saw Sapnap next to a group of strangers. The guard was obviously injured, but he had potions in their hands. He realized that the world was moving, and focused on his surroundings, noticing there was only a soft blanket separating him from the rough wood of a wagon. A hand that he hadn’t noticed was gently carding through his hair, a soft voice singing quietly. He tried to say something, but the person shushed him and he found himself slipping back into unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that this update is a day late!! It would've come out yesterday, but I was called in to cover someone's shift at work and I had no time to work on it like I was expecting. As an apology (and hopefully to make a few of you laugh), I'll include below what the "rough draft" of this chapter is in my outline for this book.  
> Thank you so much for reading, I love you all!  
> <3 MF  
> "CHATPER 4  
> they wake up and eat a small meal, say goodbye to philza and kristne (and tubbo tommy wilbur etc)  
> Plot goes brrrrr  
> Go to find wither hybrid, she finds them  
> She invites them to her home and is v calm while george is like “you have to come with us, you are a traitor to the crown, yadayadayada”  
> sapnap and bad are like “whaoh, wtf maybe hybrids arent thatbad”  
> Explosion outside of house  
> George flung against wall with next explosion  
> Wakes up briefly in a wagon and sees knights and people but passes out again"
> 
> Buy me a coffee?  
> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=48986694


	6. accept the gifts of friends alone (chapter 5)

George groaned as he came to consciousness, his head felt like it was splitting in half. He brought a hand up and felt the soft bandages. A door opened nearby, and he sat up to observe his surroundings. The bed was soft, but the sheets were rough. There was a single window that looked out over vaguely familiar lands. He looked to the door in time to watch as it opened and a kind looking woman stepped in, carrying a tray with potions and a bowl of soup. She looked surprised to see the prince sitting up in the bed, but she smiled and set the tray down on the bedside table.

“Hello, my prince, I am glad to finally see you awake,” the woman said with a sweet voice. She tucked her blonde hair behind her ears and grabbed a potion. “Lord Barkley was very concerned when his knights came back with you unconscious and your guard and advisor so wounded. He will be happy to hear you are recovering, as will your traveling companions.”

“What-” George’s voice broke and he trailed off into a coughing fit. His throat burned from the lack of speaking, and the woman was quick to help him drink water. “Thank you. What happened? I remember an explosion.”

“The knights said the wither hybrid had rigged the land with explosives, it must’ve heard you were coming to catch it and wanted to bring you down with it,” the woman replied. She grabbed his wrist and checked his pulse. He leaned forward so she could remove the bandages from his head easier. “Your companions are safe, by the way. Their injuries were mostly superficial. I was worried you might not wake up, the knights said you were thrown headfirst into a wall.”

“That would explain why it feels like I was used as a battering ram,” George said, offering a small smile, which the woman returned. He accepted the healing potion she handed to him, drinking it quickly to avoid the sickly sweet taste of glistering melons. A second potion and his head felt almost completely healed. He propped himself up more as she moved the soup so he could eat. “Thank you. Tell Lord Barkley that I would be willing to meet with him today if he is able.”

“Of course, my prince. Enjoy your meal,” the woman curtsied and collected the empty potion bottles and old bandages. She walked out of the room and shut the door quietly, leaving George alone again.

The story made sense, as he thought things over. The wither hybrid had been too hospitable, too willing to invite the son of the man who made its kind illegal into its own house. The only problem was that George couldn’t remember seeing any kind of trigger or fuse that it could’ve used to light any explosives. He ate the soup quickly, setting the empty bowl aside and pushing the sheets off his legs. A spare set of nice clothes were sitting on a chair nearby, and a quick outfit change later had George looking much more like a crown prince than an injured man. He straightened the dark yellow sash that had been sitting on top, smoothing out wrinkles in the black pants. George frowned at his reflection in the mirror, not used to wearing such dark colors. A knock rang on the door.

“Come in,” George called out, turning away from the mirror.

The door flew open, Sapnap rushing in and instantly grabbing George in a hug, “I thought you were dead, you idiot.”

Bad walked in with more composure than Sapnap, closing the door behind him before waiting for a chance to hug George. He smiled softly, “I’ve had to physically restrain him from coming down here and forcing potions down your throat. We were both really worried, George.”

Sapnap stepped back, gaining some composure back while Bad hugged George. He looked up and down George and wrinkled his nose, “Green is  _ not  _ your color, you should definitely stick with blue.”

“Green?” George said with confusion, glancing down at the sash.

“Oh! I forgot you were colorblind, George! You’re wearing a dark green sash with silver embroidery, your shirt is almost the same color as Tubbo’s cloak,” Bad explained quickly. He grabbed George’s head and gently turned it, checking the wounds that had been healed by the potions. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m alright, nothing a bit more sleep can’t heal,” George replied with a shrug. Bad hummed as he smoothed out the wrinkles in George’s tunic that he had accidentally caused. 

Sapnap sat down in a chair, propping his chin on his fist, “Lord Barkley refused to meet with us without you, but he said he had something urgent to show you. He’s probably on his way now.”

“Hopefully it doesn’t require any large amount of effort on my side,” the prince stretched, cracking his neck. Sapnap laughed at Bad’s noise of disgust at the sound of bones popping. The guard was quick to crack his knuckles, which earned him a soft slap from Bad. “Should I go-”

A knock interrupted George, making all three turn to the door. It opened without a word being spoken, and a servant bowed to them before stepping aside to allow Lord Barkley into the room. His eyes lit up when he saw George standing, and he quickly crossed the space to greet the prince.

“My prince! It is good to see you doing well,” Barkley said with a too-sweet smile. “I wish I could give you more time to recover, but when we were searching for leads on the wither hybrid we found a group of traffickers with something even better.”

“Another hybrid?” George asked, his curiosity piqued by the vagueness.

“I have it in the dungeons if you would come with me to see it. I can’t say what it is as it is rather. . . _ sensitive _ information,” Barkley’s smile turned slightly venomous, eyes flickering towards Sapnap and Bad pointedly.

George crossed his arms and stared down the lord, “My men will be coming with me. Any information you have is their personal business as my personal guard and advisor.”

Barkley looked back and forth between the prince and the other two, silently debating before nodding his agreement. He gestured to the door, and Bad grabbed it quickly, pulling it open for the lord and prince. Sapnap waited for Bad to walk through, taking up the back of the group. Barkley walked quickly, but made sure to never let George fall behind. He gestured to the guards at the door to the dungeon and they bowed, stepping aside to let the party through.

“Be aware, it’s not a sight for sensitive eyes. Nor a sight for empaths, our healer had to step down and let her apprentice take care of it because it was so disturbing,” Barkley spoke quietly as they went down the flight of stairs. Bad chewed his lip nervously, eyes flicking to every cell door they passed on their way to the very last one. “We kept it in solitary to avoid any contact with other prisoners, but it seems like that was an unnecessary precaution as it doesn’t seem to have any will to fight.”

“What kind of traffickers were they, my lord?” Sapnap asked, moving slightly in front of Bad and bowing his head to the lord.

“They were a fighting ring, but there’s always people who find other  _ uses  _ for hybrids even when they have a dedicated cause,” Barkley’s face was twisted in disgust, either at the thought of watching fights for enjoyment or at the thought of the other reasons people trafficked hybrids. “This hybrid was first caught by my men and has one of the original enchanted collars, but we lost it during transport to a raid by a trafficking ring. We caught ear of it through my spies and I think your father will be very pleased by what we discovered the collar did.”

The lord accepted a key ring from a guard positioned at the last door on the row of cells. He stuck the proper one into the lock and opened the door. The guard handed Sapnap a lantern to light up the cell before standing back and giving them space to take in the scene. A young male hybrid, who couldn’t have been older than fourteen based on how small it was, was curled up in the corner. Its eyes were closed, its knees were pulled to its chest, and its hands cuffed in front of it. George noted that the glimmering collar, which was almost identical to the one he had been given for the wither hybrid, had a fainter enchantment than the other collars. It was covered in scratches and George also noticed that the handcuffs pinning the hybrid's arms together were shimmering with a bright, brand new enchantment. Bandages were wrapped around its stomach, and dark bruises spread out from behind the pristine white. Its entire body was covered in a mottled pattern of blue, purple, and yellow bruises. George couldn’t help but wince with sympathy when he noticed a particularly nasty bruise directly over the sternum, recognizing it as a jousting practice injury.

“May I check the wrappings?” Before Barkley or George could answer, Bad had knelt down next to the hybrid. His hands gently lifted its head up to check for any injuries hidden by its hair. Sharp yellow eyes with pupils that were snake-like slits locked onto Bad the second he touched the hybrid. “Hello there. I’m just checking you for injuries, you don’t need to be afraid of me.”

The hybrid’s eyes moved to the trio still standing near the door, studying them with a deep exhaustion in its gaze. Bad was quick with checking the hybrid, seeming content with how the bandages had been wrapped. He frowned when his hand brushed against the hybrid’s face and it flinched away from the touch, but stood up and stepped back to his place behind Barkley and George. Barkley watched all of Bad’s care for the hybrid with obvious disgust while George’s face held mild concern and cautious interest.

“What kind of hybrid is it?” George asked the lord, not taking his eyes off of it.

“One that can speak,” the hybrid snarled, voice rough and almost breaking from disuse. The yellow eyes were locked onto George, glowing with defiance while also literally glowing.

Lord Barkley moved forward and kicked the hybrid harshly in the ribs in one fluid motion. Bad let out a quiet noise of complaint as the hybrid crumpled in on itself, sucking in desperate breaths. Barkley spat on the floor near the hybrid, “Know your place, scum. That is the crown prince of Ëndërr you’re speaking to.”

Yellow eyes snapped back up, wide with shock and filled with a strange emotion George couldn’t quite place. Sapnap finally stepped forward from his frozen position, staring at the hybrid with unmasked awe, “It has no physical traits, why is that? With how bright green its eyes are glowing, I would expect other physical signs of a hybrid nature.”

“Ah, young guard, you have much to learn about this world and enchantments. This hybrid was captured just as it was starting to develop its hybrid nature and we collared it before any physical traits showed besides the eyes. And here is what I thought your father would be interested in, my prince, because the collar suppresses the hybrid nature, it never developed its physical hybrid traits,” Barkley spread his arms with a proud smile. “It has been effectively cured of its hybrid curse.”

“You didn’t answer my first question, Lord Barkley. What kind of hybrid is this?” George asked, eyes leaving the hybrid’s yell-green gaze for the first time to lock his gaze with the lord.

“Crown Prince George, first in line of King Daniel the Prodigious, of this great kingdom Ëndërr, I present to you a token of goodwill from my family: the first ever Ëndërr dragon hybrid.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shorter update, life has been crazy because I'm getting ready to move back into my dorm for uni. I'm so grateful to every single one of you for your support on this work (it's truly blown me away).  
> Thank you for 700+ hits and almost 70 kudos. Again, the support really measn the world to me.  
> If you read this please drop a comment about how you'd feel if a ship showed up in this fic! I won't say which ship, but I will say that the ship is fully optional and doesn't really affect the plot too much. It would just add another layer to the relationships.  
> I love you all!!  
> <3 MF
> 
> Buy me a coffee?  
> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=48986694


	7. be kind to the supposed stranger (chapter 6)

“Sapnap, forget about the stupid wither, its probably long gone by now. This is the perfect chance to secure the loyalty of lords under my rule! A chance like this is once in a lifetime, and all Lord Barkley is asking for is a hundred men to continue tracking and capturing the hybrids? It’s a perfect deal!” George spoke with more enthusiasm than he normally did, excited by the idea of gaining the approval of the court. Bad was sitting cross legged on the bed, pouring over papers and maps that Barkley had given him to study the path of the trafficking ring that had the dragon hybrid. 

Sapnap paused his pacing, but the frown didn’t leave his face, “That hybrid has been  _ tortured  _ and forced to fight for his survival for his entire life. Barkley said that the collar is almost ten years old, and hybrids don’t start showing traits until they’re  _ eight _ . That means that kid is basically our age, but he looks like he’s in his early teens because he must be starved by those damn traffickers. We  _ can’t  _ take him as a prisoner, he wouldn’t survive. Bad, back me up here, you’re the well-studied one.”

Bad glanced up, pushing his reading glasses up his nose as he glanced between his two standing friends. He blinked owlishly, “Sorry, what? I was reading the fight records that Lord Barkley’s spy wrote down. That dragon hybrid is an insane fighter. These records say it only lost like three fights that the spy marked down, and those three fights were against fully armored opponents while it had only a sword and shield.”

“That’s insane, if he’s such a good fighter why would they put him at a disadvantage?” Sapnap asked, stepping forward to grab one of the papers Bad had read already.

“For the drama,” Bad said with a shrug. “These fighting rings are all about getting money, stacking the odds against a fighter that people know as a champion is a good way to get higher bets and more money.”

George hummed thoughtfully. He picked up a random paper, frowning at the map as he tried to tell apart the green ink of forests from the yellowish paper. Bad gently grabbed George’s hand and moved his finger along a faintly dashed out path. The prince gave him a sheepish grin and searched for other similar dashed lines.

“There aren’t any medical records here? There’s no way he lost fights and wasn’t seriously injured, those rings make hybrids fight practically to the death,” Sapnap muttered, flipping through the papers he had picked up. A deep frown was set into place on his face as he searched for the records that weren’t there. “This hybrid has to have serious injuries - unset bones, serious scars and muscle tears - there’s no way that he couldn’t.”

“Do you think it’s dangerous? It didn’t seem to be aggressive when we saw it,” George glanced up from the map, noticing the other two sharing a look he couldn’t interpret. “I want to talk to the hybrid alone.”

“George,” Bad started, voice trailing off as he saw the determination in the prince’s eyes. “As your advisor, I’m against that. As your friend, I support you.”

Sapnap shrugged, “I’d like to talk with him too. If he has information on the traffickers, we could use his help to catch them and put an end to their crimes.”

“I’m going to talk with it,” George said firmly. He stood up and tossed the map down on the bed. “You can come with me, but I want you waiting out of earshot. I’ll scream if it tries anything.”

Sapnap and Bad shared another look, but shrugged and followed the prince. George took only one wrong turn, but he asked a servant how to get to the dungeons and they got there with little difficulty. The guard was hesitant to unlock the cell, but he saw Sapnap and Bad behind the prince and handed George the lamp with no argument. George waited for the others to move further away before pushing the door open and slipping into the cell. The hybrid was curled up in the same position as it was when George left. It looked up, glowing eyes dimming slightly when it saw only one person walking in. The prince sat down cross-legged and set the lamp next to him. He watched as the hybrid studied him, eyes filled with that strange emotion from earlier.

“Hello,” George started, making a mental note of the way the hybrid flinched at his voice. “I know you can speak, but I won’t push you to talk if you don’t want to. I just wanted to know if you could tell me anything about the men who had you.”

“Monsters,” the hybrid croaked, voice rough and almost breaking. “They’re the real monsters of this world.”

“Can you tell me why?”

The sharp yellow - green George reminded himself - eyes narrowed, staring at the floor with a look that could kill, “I was just starting to show traits, I hadn’t even realized myself what was happening to me. One night, I woke up to a bow pointed at me, arrows of weakness. They forced me to drink a potion of blindness and put this damn collar on me. I was maybe 8 years old. The men were fully armed, fully trained knights. We traveled for days, and they. . .”

George waited, but the hybrid seemed lost in thought, not finishing the sentence it had started. The prince grabbed the water he had taken from the table near the guard, setting a glass on the ground in between the two. The hybrid looked up at the movement. It looked between George and the water, gauging the situation before it made any movement to grab the cup. It took the cup with a shaky grip, struggling to lift it to its lips with cuffed hands. George let it take its time, watching carefully for any movement that might be threatening.

“What about the people who had you? The fighting ring,” George pressed after the silence stretched on too long. The hybrid took a shaky breath, eyes dimming even more.

“I had to fight for my life every day. I don’t know how long I’ve been with them, I don’t even know how old I am anymore. It was just fighting, day in and day out, unless I was unconscious from injuries. They beat me when I won, beat me worse when I lost, and starved me if I showed any emotion. I didn’t even know what my hybrid side was until I overheard the people talking about how people would pay more for my fights if they let me grow my wings. They obviously didn’t go through with that plan,” bitterness filled the hybrid’s voice as it subconsciously flexed its shoulders like it was trying to stretch its back, “otherwise I wouldn’t be here. I would’ve flown away and escaped long ago.”

“Wings?” George’s eyes widened with surprise, not expecting such a huge physical trait to have been suppressed by the collar. The hybrid nodded. It struggled to its knees and turned so George could see its back. Two lines of inky blackness stuck out from above and below the bandages wrapped around its torso. They almost looked like tattoos but were inflamed and looked extremely painful. George could practically hear Tubbo’s voice asking about the collars causing pain. “Does. . .does the collar hurt you?”

The hybrid turned around, sitting back down with that strange emotion back again in its eyes. It shrugged, cuffed hands lifting so its fingers could run along the metal in question, “Not anymore, not really. I can’t remember if it hurt when it first was put on me, especially after the years of pain I went through with the traffickers. Pain has lost its meaning.”

“Would it be weird if I asked to touch where your wings are?” George asked quietly, eyes flickering away and back. The hybrid shook its head, turning around so the prince could see its back again. George was hesitant, halfway to changing his mind, but the trust the hybrid had in him made his hand move forward almost against his will. He nearly pulled his hand away at the warmth, half-expecting the hybrid to have cold reptilian skin, but he moved his fingers gently over the raised lines where majestic wings should be. The hybrid shuddered, obviously not fully comfortable with the gentle touch. George moved away, letting the hybrid take a moment to calm down. “We’re bringing you to the palace. My father will not be happy, but I will make sure you are treated the same as any other prisoner.”

“But I’m just a monster, one of the evil hybrids that killed the queen.”

George looked into the sharp glowing eyes of the supposedly dangerous hybrid, but his mind conjured an image of smiling yellow eyes that held more intelligence and mirth than anyone he’d met since. He shook his head, a small smile making the hybrid’s expression grow confused, “You’re. . .different.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh this is short, im sorry. we had a nasty blizzard on monday and my uni was closed for two days so i SHOULD have more written, but i just didnt like what i had so i basically deleted the entire chapter and rewrote it. i hope that i can make chapter 7 longer (im going to aim for 2.5K words) as an apology.  
> i love you all,, thank you so much for 900 hits!! feel free to leave kudos and comments, they're free and really help to motivate me and keep me going.  
> <3 MF
> 
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	8. remember the past and let it guide your choices (chapter 7)

Sapnap eventually knocked on the cell door, alerting George that it was time for the feast Lord Barkley had prepared for their, hopefully, last meal in his castle. The hybrid had shrunk back into the corner when Sapnap appeared, not quite as curled up as it had been the last few times, but still obviously nervous to be around the guard in full armor. George had given the hybrid a small, awkward smile, still not fully comfortable with it. He walked slightly behind the other two once they stepped out into the grand halls of the castle, lost in thought. Sapnap and Bad both seemed to pick up on George’s internal conflict, but neither commented on it to George’s relief. They spoke about their worries about travelling, specifically about the fact that no fourth body had been found at the wither hybrid’s house. The guards that had found them had reported there were only the three of them, but both Bad and Sapnap had been knocked temporarily unconscious by the explosions and never saw where their hybrid host had disappeared to.

George half listened to them as his thoughts flickered between the dragon hybrid he had left in the dungeon and a yellow-eyed boy he had left in a forest years ago. The hybrid had seemed so fast to trust George despite the many reasons it should have been wary of the prince. He couldn’t shake the feeling of the sharp yellow eyes locked on his and filled with the unplaceable emotion. The doors to the great hall of the castle appeared in front of them. Guards clad in the same dark green that George was wearing stood on each side of the doors. They stepped to the side when they recognized the trio, holding the doors open and standing at attention. George cleared his thoughts, focusing on putting forward the character of crown prince, and stepped in front of Sapnap and Bad. Lord Barkley stood when he saw George in the door, leading the other nobles in the room to follow suit. George held his head up, ignoring the lesser nobles who bowed and curtsied as he passed to focus solely on the lord at the high table. 

Lord Barkley was quick to bow deeply to the prince, giving him the head chair at the high table, “My prince, would you like to say a few words to reassure the people of your health?”

George hummed noncommittally, eyes flickering across the gathered crowd. He held a hand out, the nobles all going silent at the motion. They sat down as he began to speak, “Lords, Ladies, thank you for giving your time to gather. I appreciate the concern you have for my health, and my father also is grateful for your loyalty. I can reassure you that I have recovered from the attack, no hybrid will take me away from you like they did to my mother. My mother had no one to protect her, I have my loyal advisor and head guard, both of whom I trust with my life. They will not allow this kingdom to have another tragedy at the hands of hybrids. So let us dine in celebration, and in honor, of their unwavering strength and loyalty.”

Bad and Sapnap both flushed at the attention of everyone, the applause after George’s short speech directed more at them than at the prince. Sapnap simply lowered his chin in acknowledgement, but Bad gave a smile and small wave as the applause died down. They took their seats on either side of George. The two gratefully let him lead the conversation away from their travels and onto less weighty topics such as the upcoming harvest and the success of hunters and fishers in Lord Barkley’s land. The food on the table was proof that his lands were doing well, platters of fresh bread and fruit alongside large roasts and cooked vegetables. Bad and Sapnap both managed to make small conversation with the lesser nobles at the table, making sure to eat enough that they wouldn’t need dinner on the trail. 

“My prince, how many men would you like to join you to escort the hybrid prisoner?” Lord Barkley eventually asked, leaning forward to brace his elbows on the table, hands folded together. “I could spare upwards of 15 men if it would make you feel safer.”

“Lord Barkley, are you insinuating that my men and myself are not able enough to escort an unarmed and fully restrained prisoner for barely over a day’s travel?” George asked with a scathing look, making the other nobles at the table quiet down to watch the drama between the prince and the lord.

“I would never, my prince,” the lord replied smoothly. “I was merely offering assistance should you wish to take it. A humble offer to protect you and this land’s most important advisor and guard.”

“The offer is appreciated, but I assure you it is completely unnecessary. The prisoner is in no state to even attempt to attack or escape,” George said, meeting Sapnap’s and Bad’s eyes with a silent question. Both of them nodded their replies and George moved to stand up. “Thank you for the meal, Lord Barkley. We should be getting ready to leave.”

“Of course, my prince,” Lord Barkley stood and gestured to someone to come forward. “This is Lady Minx, she will lead you to the stables. I had my men go to Lord Philza’s castle and collect them when I learned that’s where you had come from.”

Lady Minx gave Lord Barkley a glare when he turned his back, but quickly turned it into a - very fake - smile. She curtsied politely to George, accepting his offered arm with a gentle hand. The lord returned to his seat after giving the trio one more warm wish of safe travels. Lady Minx dropped the fake smile as soon as they were out of the hall, annoyance covering her features.

“Oh, the  _ day  _ I’m able, I’ll shove a spoon up his arse,” Lady Minx said with a sharp tone. George blinked at the heavy accent, not expecting it nor the cursing from a Lady. She brushed her long hair out of her face, rolling her eyes as she pulled her arm away from George. “C’mon boys, I’m taking you to the stable and then leaving to see a friend so try to be quick.”

Sapnap let out a startled laugh, Bad mumbled a quiet language, and George just blinked at Minx, all three surprised by the improperness. Minx kept her word as she walked quickly through the halls, the trio having to speed up to keep up with her. Servants ducked to the side to allow her to walk through, bowing deeply when they realized that George was with her. Four guards were in the stables with the hybrid when they arrived, three holding chains and one holding a deadly sharp sword poised to strike should the hybrid move. Yellow eyes lifted from the floor and widened when they landed on Minx, jumping between her and George with confusion. George let Bad and Sapnap move towards their horses, checking bags and stroking the horse’s noses gently. Minx pulled him back with a soft grip on his upper arm, eyes narrowing to keep the others out of hearing distance.

“Promise me you’ll keep him safe?”

“Who?”

Minx let out a harsh breath, rolling her eyes, “ _ God,  _ you’re daft for a prince. The hybrid. Keep him safe for me, you and he are the last hope for hybrids.”

George was about to question her when she pushed her long hair behind her ear. The tips of her ears were slightly pointed. He looked at her with new awareness, noticing the sharp nails and teeth and the pupils that were slightly too thin. His eyes went huge and he pulled her further away from the guards, “You’re one of them? And you live in the castle of a lord?”

“Not for long. My friend is a ram hybrid, he’s had enough success in his business that he can afford to support me and a few other hybrids who have been trying to get away to leave freely,” Minx said with a careless shrug, smoothing her hair back down. “We’re not all monsters, prince, just like not all royals are pompous pricks.”

George stumbled over his words, but she just flashed another too-sharp and obviously fake smile before curtsying and walking away. The prince stared after her, too confused to set the guards after her like he would have. He heard Sapnap call his name and turned around, brushing off the uncomfortable encounter and deciding to think about what he was going to do about Minx on the ride. Sapnap and Bad were already on their horses, the hybrid on his own palomino that was tied to George’s. The sharp yellow eyes were firmly focused on cuffed hands that were wrapped around reins. George swung himself into his saddle with practiced ease, accepting the reins with a smile from the stableboy who was holding them. He ignored the feeling of the hybrid’s gaze burning into his back as he took the lead and walked his horse out of the stables.

There were, to George’s relief, no crowds to meet them as they left the castle. A few villagers looked at them with curiosity, a few of those realized who George was and bowed as he passed, but mostly they just stepped out of the way of the horses. As soon as they were in the forest near the village and out of sight of the castle, they picked their speed up from a walk to a trot. The travel was relatively boring, trees appearing and vanishing as the horses made their way easily along the trail. Lord Barkley’s land was the closest to the castle, barely over a day’s travel away. With the time they left at, they would arrive at the palace by noon the next day. Fernando huffed and tossed his head suddenly, Sapnap’s blood bay tossing his head too and moving further towards the center of the trail.

“Eyes up, I think we’re surrounded,” Sapnap murmured quietly, eyes flickering through the forest.

George could hear the hybrid shift, murmuring quietly to his horse when it started slowing down. He pulled his sword out of its sheath, Sapnap spinning his axe by his side as his eyes continued to scan for whatever was spooking the horses. Silence took over the group, everyone focusing on listening for any hints. 

“Prince!” The hybrid let out a startled cry and suddenly George’s horse was lurching forward, body slammed by the one the hybrid was on. George’s head snapped around in time to see a wolf sink its fangs into the throat of the hybrid’s horse. The horse reared, throwing the hybrid with enough force that the rope tying him to the saddle snapped and sent him falling. Sapnap cursed, slinging his ax away and pulling out his bow. Bad had his throwing knives at the ready, waiting for another wolf to expose itself. The hybrid struggled trying to get to his feet, tied hands making it difficult for him to get up. 

George cursed quietly, jumping off his horse and grabbing the hybrid’s wrists, pulling him to his feet with ease. He pulled the keys off his belt and quickly uncuffed his arms. His eyes met with the hybrids, heterochromatic blue and brown meeting the shocked yellow with a threat behind them, “You try anything and I will not hesitate to have Sapnap break your knees and leave you for the wolves.”

The hybrid nodded, rubbing his wrists to get blood flowing. He was quick to follow George’s lead, swinging up onto the saddle of George’s horse and sitting behind the prince. Two more wolves had joined the first, bringing down the hybrid’s horse. Sharp white claws and teeth tore into the horse, making the hybrid wince and tuck his face into George’s back. The prince smacked his reins, Sapnap and Bad following suite as they pushed their horses into a full gallop.

George could feel the hesitance in the hybrid as he wrapped his arms around the prince’s waist to avoid falling off, stiffness filling every inch of muscle. He felt bad for the horse that had to carry two people, but with how light the hybrid had felt when he had pulled him up he doubted it was much more than carrying a child with him. Sapnap was standing in his stirrups, aiming his bow and launching an arrow that collided with a wolf that came too close and sent it yelping back to the others. Bad yelled at him to get into his saddle and stop showing off which only made the guard laugh. 

“Let’s get out of the woods before we camp,” George shouted over the wind. Bad and Sapnap agreed quickly and he felt the hybrid nod against his back.

They rode at a full gallop until George could feel his horse starting to struggle. He slowed back down to a trot, noting with relief that he could see the beginning of a field maybe a kilometer down the trail. Sapnap and Bad slowed their horses down, all four riders breathing almost as heavily as the horses. George could feel the confusion in the stares from the other two when they noticed that the hybrid’s hands were uncuffed and wrapped around George. He could also feel how shaky the hybrid was, tremors causing his arms to practically vibrate. Whether it was exhaustion or adrenaline, he couldn’t tell, but he had a feeling the hybrid wasn’t going to try anything.

“We should only ride until sunset, no later,” Bad spoke up when they reached the treeline. “It will give the horses a chance to rest, and we shouldn’t be too delayed. I’ll set up the tents, Sapnap you get the fire, and George could you tend to the horses?”

“I think I might be able to handle that,” George replied in a teasing tone. 

Sapnap laughed, “Who knows? After that head injury, I’m amazed you can still ride.”

“Oh, shut up, Sap,” George scoffed as Bad and Sapnap both laughed. He heard a quiet noise from the hybrid that took him a second to register as a laugh. Bad was quick to spot a nice hill with a few trees that he used to brace the tents up when they stopped. Sapnap gathered up materials and had food cooking over a fire before George had even taken off the last saddle bag. The hybrid stood awkwardly, shuffling his feet and not making eye contact. George felt the weight of the cuffs that he had locked around his belt and watched the hybrid with a strange feeling in his chest. He walked over, making sure to keep his footsteps loud.

“My prince,” the hybrid murmured. His eyes fell on the cuffs and he let out a quiet sigh, offering his wrists to George without a fight. “I apologize for the inconvenience.”

“Why did you do it?”

“What?”

“Why did you risk your safety?” George rephrased his question, keeping his volume low enough that Sapnap and Bad wouldn’t hear. “You could’ve let that wolf take down my horse, and me, and we wouldn’t even know you saw it.”

“Geor-Prince, is it so hard to believe that I’m not a monster? I care about y-about this kingdom, I can’t just let the crown prince die,” he stared at the cuffs, lowering his hands. “When you took those off, I realized just how awful they were. You asked if they caused me pain, and they do. I just didn’t realize it until they were off.”

George pulled the cuffs off his belt, holding them gingerly between the two. The hybrid looked up, making eye contact for the first time since the wolf attack, and George could see tear tracks running down the other’s cheeks. The prince held the cuffs out, “Take them.”

“What?”

“Take the cuffs. Keep them with you, but you don’t have to put them on.”

“George, I-” the hybrid’s voice cut off and he took a soft breath. “ _ Thank you _ .”

“Now c’mon, I’m hungry and if we take any longer Sapnap’s going to eat all the food,” George said with a small smile, gesturing towards the fire.

Night went past with no issues, Sapnap and Bad taking the guard shifts and reporting that the night was as dull as could be. It took until they could see the outskirts of the village near the palace for George to realize that the hybrid riding with him would be probably the worst way to return. There were a few moments of panic as they tried to figure out what to do before the hybrid let out a wheeze that George recognized as a laugh from the day before.

“I’ll just walk, I have working legs,” the hybrid said with a small smile, face bright red from the sudden attention the other three gave him. Bad and George shared a look and shrugged. Sapnap seemed caught off guard by something, staring at the hybrid with confusion and faint horror. “We don’t have far to go now anyway.”

The rope was tied to Sapnap’s saddle this time, as he was the guard and would be accompanying the hybrid to the dungeons when they got to the palace. Villagers cheered at the sight of the trio, but gasps and hushed whispers started to spread through the crowds at the sight of the glaring glowing eyes and the sharp teeth the hybrid bared at anyone who got too close. A path was quick to clear in front of them, allowing them to get to the castle with relative speed. Sapnap had his ax out as soon as he was off his horse, the rope guiding the hybrid in his hands as he went to the dungeon with three guards following for safety.

Bad gave George a quick hug, “I have to go, I need to see someone and say hi to my mom.”

“Of course, Bad. Tell your mother I say hello?”

“She’ll be sending me back with your favorite cookies I’m sure,” Bad said with a grin, waving as he rushed off and left George alone.

He sighed deeply, letting the exhaustion he felt show as he stretched deeply. A glance at the sun told him he had missed any chance of meeting with his father during lunch, meaning he easily had hours to waste before he would get a minute of the king’s time. George glanced in the direction Sapnap and the hybrid had gone before looking back up at the sun and making a split second decision.

“I’m _so_ dead if my father or the court learns about this,” George muttered to himself as he swung a door open.

“George?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry for not updating last week!!! I promise there's a reason (about 13K words of a reason as of right now) and I will be trying to keep the updates to once a week. The plot is going to kick off now, and angst is coming in fast (but so is the comfort and fluff).  
> Thank you so much for reading, please feel free to leave a comment and some kudos to fuel me  
> <3 MF


	9. a cold heart hurts more than it protects (chapter 8)

Sapnap was standing with a clean shirt in his hand, his travel clothes discarded but thankfully a new pair of pants already on. He let George into the room without pressing for an explanation but with a concerned look stuck on his face. George sunk down onto the small bed that all of the knights had in the guard’s quarters. He ran his hands through his hair and set his crown down, not even realizing he still had it on in the exhaustion of traveling.

“George, man, as much as I don’t care when you visit, you know that your dad hates you coming down here,” Sapnap said, pulling the shirt over his head and grabbing a towel to dry his hair that he must’ve washed quickly. “The guard’s quarters aren’t really the place for the crown prince to spend his time.”

“You know the hybrid,” George cut to the point quickly, “how? Who is he? Why do  _ I  _ know him?”

When silence was the only reply to his questions, he looked up with confusion. Sapnap had a small grin on his face, “You called the hybrid a him.”

George paused, taking interest in studying his hands, “So I did. I guess I find it. . .more difficult than I should to think of him as the monster he is after speaking to him for so long.”

“That’s okay. Actually, I’m starting to question whether or not he - or any of the hybrids - are actually monsters,” Sapnap said cautiously. He watched his friend’s expression closely to monitor his reaction before he continued. “I didn’t. . .I still don’t recognize him, but he said something that. . .Do you remember when we were attacked by that bear as kids?”

Taken aback but the sudden energy and topic change, George blinked silently for a few seconds before nodding. A small wistful smile crept onto his face, “Dream told us to climb a tree and pulled out that stone axe of his that we normally teased him about. You refused, but I don’t think Bad, Skeppy, and I ever climbed a tree faster.”

“Yeah, and Dream and I fought that stupid bear, but it got a good swipe in on him and sent him into a tree,” Sapnap continued, George nodding along with his words. “When the bear ran off, I asked him if he wanted me to help him get to Bad’s mom’s bakery. He just laughed at me and said, ‘I’ll just walk, I have working legs. Besides, it’s not that far away.’”

George went silent as the words registered, his eyes widening as he looked at Sapnap. The prince feeling the same horror the guard had in his eyes earlier, “Oh fuck, that’s-”

“-exactly what the hybrid said. Yeah,” Sapnap finished for him, slumping onto the bed next to George. “I. . .the green eyes and blond hair were so familiar, obviously Dream’s eyes never glowed, but those words. . .what if it  _ is  _ him? What do we do, George? What would  _ you  _ do?”

“I. . .” the prince trailed off, shaking his head helplessly and throwing his arms up. He stood up, almost sending his crown to the ground if Sapnap hadn’t caught it. Pacing across the room quickly, George spun around when he reached the other wall and Sapnap saw tears in his eyes that were quickly wiped away. “I don’t believe it’s him. He would’ve said something by now.”

“George, what if he’s terrified that we’re going to think he’s a monster? We haven’t seen him since we were 8 for fuck’s sake, he has no idea how we’d react,” Sapnap argued, also standing and setting the crown down on the bed. “Why can’t you see that not all hybrids are evil?”

“Because every time I see one of those goddamn monsters, I’m just a scared little nine year old boy clinging to his mother as she bleeds out thinking that I’m going to be next because a hybrid managed to get past the guards,” George shouted, his voice breaking. “ _ Don’t _ tell me they’re not all monsters. I’ve seen too many of them executed to think of them as anything but monsters. My mother’s life was  _ taken  _ by one of them with their bare hands, claws, whatever. They didn’t show her any empathy, they didn’t show my unborn sibling any empathy. They let her bleed out slowly, while she begged them to kill her quickly so I wouldn’t wake up to her dying. I was covered in blood for  _ five  _ hours, Sapnap. I held her dead body for  _ hours  _ before the guards managed to get in and restrain the fucker that killed her. It was just watching me sob, beg for my mom to wake up. Don’t. . . _ please _ don’t tell me that Dream is like them. I can’t-”

Sapnap stood silently, eyes filled with tears that he refused to let fall as George wiped his eyes furiously, refusing to look at his friend. Silence filled the small room, George breathing shakily as he tried to calm down. Sapnap took a few long steps, pinning his friend against the wall with a tight hug, pulling George’s face gently into his chest. He let out a shaky breath, “George, why didn’t you tell me? I knew you were with her, I didn’t know. . .I’m so sorry, George.”

George stood stiffly for a few seconds, not returning the hug as he tried to maintain what little composure he had. A few moments later, his hands came up and clung to Sapnap’s shoulders as he let himself sob weakly into his friend. Sapnap cautiously walked backwards until his knees hit the bed and he sat down, pulling the other onto the bed to sit comfortably. He gently rubbed the prince’s back in soothing motions as he trembled like a leaf. Sapnap felt tears running down his face as his friend broke down.

“George,” he said after the other seemed to be breathing steadier, “I think there’s someone you should go see.”

“What?” George whispered, voice raw from the crying. He pulled out of the hug, clearing his throat and wiping his eyes. He cleared his throat again and rubbed his face with a quiet groan. “I hate crying.”

“Bad and I. . .we haven’t been the most honest with you, but I think there’s someone you should go see,” Sapnap said slowly, not wanting to freak him out. “Are you. . .um, would you be up to it?”

“Give me a few minutes to compose myself,” George said after a moment of hesitation. “We don’t want rumors to spread about the crown prince.”

“Of course,” Sapnap replied gently. He stood up and moved away, pulling on a light jacket and putting his belt. A moment’s hesitation and he grabbed the sheath holding his sword and attached it to his belt carefully. George grabbed a water bottle and poured some of its contents on his face, drinking the remaining bit. He dried his face with a clean rag Sapnap tossed to him. “Good?”

“Good.”

“Let’s go.” 

Sapnap and George walked side by side through the castle, getting a few looks but mostly just bows from the staff and others. Once they got out of the castle grounds, George slipped his crown into his satchel and pulled up the hood of the cloak he was wearing. Sapnap started guiding him through the village, keeping off of the crowded roads but never going down any shady paths. He stopped in front of a familiar building, making George pause in confusion.

“Halo’s Bakery? Why-” he was cut off by the door opening and revealing Bad’s mom, throwing her arms out.

“Boys! It’s been too long! George, you’ve gotten so big, you’re all grown up!” 

She wrapped him in a warm hug that he melted into like he did when he was younger. Bad’s mom always smelled of freshly baked bread and sugar, and she made George feel safe without fail. Sapnap accepted her hug with a wide smile, pulling away to gesture at the building, “I wanted George to meet. . .him.”

“Oh, well, I trust you boys to do the right thing. Bad is upstairs with him, probably telling him all about your trip. I’m sure he’d love to hear it from you boys too,” she said with a motherly smile. George gave the other two another confused look as Sapnap pulled him into the bakery. He headed behind the counter and up the stairs to the living quarters without hesitation. Sapnap knocked a rhythm on one of the doors, waiting a few seconds before repeating the pattern. The door opened a crack, Bad peeking out from behind it and breaking into a wide smile very similar to his mother’s. He opened it the rest of the way and gestured for them to come in.

“Hi! I wasn’t expecting you to be here, but I’m glad you came!” Bad said enthusiastically, closing the door behind them. George heard movement and his attention snapped to the other side of the room. His eyes trailed over the blue and purple tinged skin on the hands that were fidgeting with each other nervously before looking up and meeting with icy blue eyes. A gasp tore out of his throat as he recognized the face and he crossed the room before he could even think about what he was doing. He saw Sapnap and Bad go to stop him, but he wrapped his arms around the person before they could reach him.

“Skeppy, I think you remember George? George, I’m taking it you remember Skeppy,” Bad said with a small laugh. George could feel unnatural coldness radiating off his long-lost friend, but it just made him tighten the hug when he felt hesitant arms return it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh angst with a happy ending, we love to see it. please leave a comment if you want (they are my lifeblood recently, i love interacting with yall). thank you so much for reading this, i love you all so much.  
> <3 MF


	10. those who love you will never forget you (chapter 9)

George hadn’t stopped pacing the entire time Bad, Skeppy, and Sapnap explained what was happening. He was less angry than the others had expected. Bad had hesitantly told him that they had an actual plan for if he decided that hybrids were still monsters and tried to hurt Skeppy in any way. Skeppy was sitting on the bed, fidgeting with Bad’s cloak that was draped over his shoulders. He shivered despite the warmth, George also still feeling chilled from the hug.

“I. . .I’m not angry,” George started slowly, stopping his pacing to make eye contact with each of the other three. “I understand not wanting to tell me. I’m so conflicted, it feels like my heart is fighting my brain. I can’t not trust Skeppy, but I’ve grown up being told hybrids are, well. . . _ monsters _ .”

“George, I know what you’ve been taught, I know your mom was killed by one of my kind, but I swear on the ender dragon that most of us aren’t like that,” Skeppy’s icy blue eyes locked onto George’s with urgency in his gaze. “We’re just like you. I was a terrified kid, thank fuck I had Bad and his mom, otherwise I’d be dead or ‘missing’ like all the other hybrid kids.”

“What, erm, what  _ type  _ of hybrid are you?” George asked cautiously. “Sorry if that’s a rude question or something, I obviously haven’t spoken to many hybrids.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry. From what Bad’s researched, we think that it’s a form of a skeleton known as a ‘stray’ or an ice skeleton. My powers are mostly related to freezing or slowing people down,” Skeppy flexed his right hand and rested it on the wall causing frost to creep across the wood. “It’s not deadly, or I guess I just haven’t killed anything with it. I almost gave Bad frostbite a few times during the first few weeks after my traits presented, but his mom helped me learn how to control it.”

Skeppy tapped the wall with his index finger and the frost retracted into his hand. George watched with interest as he made the frost concentrate in the center of his palm to form a small ball of ice. Skeppy tossed it to George, who caught it and studied it with awe. He locked eyes with Skeppy again, deep sadness in his eyes, “What am I supposed to do? How can I do anything with my father on the throne?”

“Challenge him, George. You’d have all of us on your side. Sapnap could get the entire guard, Skeppy could get other hybrids he knows, and I could get Lord Philza and Sir Wilbur. His entire castle and all of his lands are safe havens for hybrids,” Bad grinned enthusiastically, grabbing George’s hand with both of his. “Who cares what your dad says? You’re the crown prince, set to be coordinated any day! The lords of the court would have to be insane to go against you with all the support you would have.”

“Bad, your positivity is great, but the people of this kingdom hate hybrids as much as my father. I might be able to sway the lords with a show of power, but I would lose the people. We would need to prove to them that hybrids aren’t the monsters that killed their beloved queen and almost killed the prince like they were told for almost ten years.”

“Then show them,” Sapnap spoke up quietly. The other’s turned to him, and he locked eyes with them slowly. George could practically hear the gears turning as his friend started planning. “Dream. He told you what happened to him when the traffickers had him, didn’t he?”

George’s eyes lit up as he realized what Sapnap was leading to, “We have him expose the corruption. There’s no way people wouldn’t love him, and the hybrids would definitely trust him since he’s such a powerful hybrid.”

The group planned for hours, the sun dropping lower in the sky as they worked out every possible thing that could go wrong. George kept glancing at the sun, ensuring that he wouldn’t miss dinner with his father. Bad and Skeppy were speaking like they were the same person, finishing sentences for each other without any hesitation. Sapnap made sure to bring up everything that could go wrong, and to point out that some of the lords hated hybrids almost more than George’s father did. Despite being the main player in their plan, George found himself spacing out more than he was contributing. His mind kept replaying the last words his mother had told him before he had fallen asleep on that cursed night. She had been reciting a poem that she wrote for him when he was too young to remember because he had heard the sounds of fighting and was scared. He realized that he could barely remember the words, which only served to distract him more as he tried to recall what it sounded like when she would say it to him, but he couldn’t focus for long enough with Sapnap or Bad asking him for his thoughts on a new aspect of their plan. Eventually, George excused himself from the group, pulling his hood back up before descending the stairs. He gave a small wave to Bad’s mom, who was busy with customers but still waved back, and vanished into the dusk lit streets. 

“George! I almost thought I would be eating without you,” King Daniel was seated at their private dining table, much to George’s dismay. “Come, the servants are just about to bring in the meal.”

“I apologize for my tardiness, father. I got caught up in reviewing works that my advisor brought me,” George lied smoothly, sitting in the chair next to the head of the table where his father had various papers spread out. He noticed one was a proclamation of death, which made his heart stop. “What execution did I miss?”

“Just that wither skeleton brat, it almost killed one of the guards with its cursed ability so I expedited its death,” no emotion besides annoyance accompanied the news, which made George even more nervous. “I think you would also like to know that the wither hybrid that ambushed you and your two men is also dead, Lord Philza reassured me that his best knight went after it and killed it. I believe you’ve met the Blade?”

“Yes, father. He accompanied us to the edge of the wither’s forest. Techno’s, er, the Blade’s reputation precedes him, I’d heard of his acts before I ever met him,” George replied, eyes not leaving the death proclamation. Two servants entered the room through the kitchen doors, one carrying two bowls of stew and the other a platter of bread and cheese.

King Daniel waved them off, they left as quickly as they could after bowing, leaving the prince alone with the king again. George relished the few moments of silence, knowing before his father opened his mouth what the question was going to be, “George, I sent you to capture the wither. You failed that task, but Lord Barkley sent a letterman ahead of you to inform me that you would be returning with a gift from him.”

“Father,” George started, pausing briefly to collect his thoughts and plan out what he wanted to say. “Father, are you free to go to the dungeon after this meal?”

“I should be.”

“I will show you what Lord Barkley was speaking of then. In the meantime, do you remember my friend Skeppy?” George asked cautiously, knowing his father’s disdain towards his relationships with lesser ranked people. King Daniel slowly looked up, meeting George’s eyes with a warning expression on his face. “I was speaking with my advisor, Bad, and he mentioned that Skeppy is alive and well. I plan to go see him tomorrow after I finish my training with Sap-with the knights.”

“Finish your meal quickly, then. I would like to know what this surprise is sooner rather than later. But I do not permit you to visit a commoner, no matter who he used to be to you. He vanished for all these years, so he obviously did not consider you as good a friend as you did him,” King Daniel said with finality. George knew better than to protest, not wanting to risk his father learning about his earlier trip. He finished his meal in silence, taking as long as he thought he could risk without his father getting angry about him delaying. As soon as the servants had removed the bowls from the table, King Daniel was standing up and giving George an expectant look. George let out a quiet sigh but nodded slowly, standing up and walking to the main door. He could feel the tension between his father and himself, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. His father dismissed the guard who was following them when they reached the dungeon. George took one more deep breath as he pushed the dungeon door open and walked to the cell Sapnap told him to. 

“Father, this is who, erm, what Lord Barkley wanted you to see,” George said in a voice that sounded much calmer than how he actually felt. His eyes met with the familiar ones and any doubt he was holding on to vanished as he felt his throat seize up. 

The king stepped closer when he got over his initial shock. He hummed with interest as he studied Dream, “And what is so special about this hybrid?”

“If you would let me remove his collar so his traits could develop, you would see that he’s the only ender dragon hybrid,” George spoke cautiously, knowing his father would refuse his request. Dream’s eyes snapped towards him, wide with confusion and George realized that Dream didn’t know he had been recognized already. “I’m sure that he would be too weak to try anything against our guards.”

“George.  _ It _ is a monster, I will trust you and Lord Barkley. If you say  _ it _ is an ender dragon hybrid, then that is what it is,” King Daniel said with anger in his eyes that George didn’t understand until he realized his mistake.

“What will you have done to the hybrid, father?”

“You said it is the only one of its kind, which means it is likely one of the strongest hybrids to have ever been sent from hell,” the king mused to himself. “Two days from now is your birthday, correct?”

“Yes, father.”

“Then three days from now this hybrid will be executed on the day that marks ten years from your mother’s murder.”

“Fath-“

“Do not argue with me, George. It has been declared for years that hybrids are to be put to death,” King Daniel spat out. George flinched away from his father, lowering his head and staying silent as the king turned and walked out of the dungeon without saying another word. 

As the echo of the heavy door slamming faded, George dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around his torso. A few moments passed before he felt a cautious hand touch his shoulder. He flinched away, but when he looked up and saw Dream’s concerned expression, he lunged forward and wrapped his arms tightly around his friend. The hybrid stiffened, obviously not expecting that reaction from the prince. He hesitantly brought his hands to rub soothing patterns into George’s back.

“Dream,” George whispered, voice breaking at the shock in Dream’s eyes. He brought a hand up to cup his face, trying to memorize every change from the eight year old he remembered. There were scars littered across his face, his jawline was much sharper, but his eyes-despite their new glow-were just as gentle and emotional as they were so long ago. “ _ Dream _ .”

“Ge-George?” Dream’s voice was equally as emotional as his eyes, hesitant and fearful. George pulled himself closer to Dream, squeezing his arms to tighten the hug as he buried his face in Dream’s shoulder. Dream rested his chin on top of George’s head gently. The two were close enough that George could feel the even heartbeat and shaky breaths, and he found himself trying to hold back tears as Dream let his fall freely. “I thought I lost you, all of you.”

“We thought we lost you, Dream. God, if I knew what had happened to you I would have sent the entire royal guard after those traffickers,” George promised, not moving his head from Dream’s shoulder.

“Your dad-“

“Fuck him. You aren’t dying on my watch. Sapnap, Bad, and Skeppy would have my head.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being a day late!! I’m a mod for a streamer and totally forgot to post the chapter yesterday because I was distracted by his stream lol. Here’s 2K words of fluff and angst to make up for being late  
> Sorry also for the change in formatting near the end, I typed this on my phone and it wouldn’t let me indent paragraphs. If I remember, I’ll get on my laptop and fix that later.  
> Comments are my life blood & I love interacting with y’all, so please leave one if you made it this far. Kudos are also very much appreciated.  
> <3MF

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading! I hope you liked this preview of my FIRST multi-chapter fic!! I'm very excited to be working on this, and I hope you all enjoy it :D  
> I have a few chapters already written so hopefully I'll be able to update once a week (I don't have a set day, but most likely Wednesdays or Thursdays).  
> Once again thank you all for reading, comments and kudos are appreciated but not expected, but they're free and you can always change your mind later ;P  
> <3 MF

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29073831) by [Starlightchu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starlightchu/pseuds/Starlightchu)




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